A lockout of longshoremen could affect Vancouver Island ports serving forestry operations and taking delivery of cargo from container ships, including new vehicles arriving at the Nanaimo port, says the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Maritime Employers Association.
As of Monday, about 20 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 were affected by the lockout in Nanaimo and at Duke Point, along with about 70 in Prince Rupert and hundreds more in Metro Vancouver, the union said.
Ian Marr, president and chief executive of the Port of Nanaimo, which has a large vehicle processing centre, said pickets are up at the port’s downtown location and at Duke Point.
The Seaspan Garibaldi, a new 112.8-metre-long liquefied natural gas bunkering vessel, is waiting at the downtown port, where it had been scheduled to remain for several days, he said.
Another vessel that arrived to pick up logs is also there, he said. “It did load some logs in the last few days but hasn’t completed [the work].”
The dispute will interfere with Duke Point’s regular container movements, Marr said. Typically, barges move cargo from Duke Point to Vancouver, where it is loaded on ships for export, as well as bringing cargo from Vancouver to Duke Point. “That’s all held up,” he said.
The next large vessel delivering new vehicles to the port is not expected until later this month, Marr said.
Rob MacKay-Dunn, vice-president of government and public affairs for the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Maritime Employers Association, said that aside from Duke Point and the downtown Nanaimo port, Island ports that could feel the effects of the dispute include Chemainus, Cowichan Bay, Crofton and Gold River.
Forestry operations, including pulp and paper, could also be affected, he said.
The employers’ organization includes port terminal operator DP World Inc., which manages some properties at the Port of Nanaimo and Duke Point, and SSA Marine at Ogden Point. Members are more focused on international products than domestic, MacKay-Dunn said.
The dispute is over issues including port automation being introduced by DP World and what it would mean for unionized worker staffing levels.
In addition to the 730 longshoremen locked out who work as foremen, another 7,400 port workers are off the job because they can’t work without foremen, said MacKay-Dunn, adding the trucking sector and rail lines serving ports are also affected.
“So the impact is much broader … and it obviously works its way back to the supply chain.”
Bulk grain shipping is not part of the dispute because it’s protected as an essential service under the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Labour Code.
Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said he’s hoping for a prompt resolution to the dispute to avoid supply-chain interruptions. “That doesn’t take very long to show its impact in the communities, particularly on an island where you know so much of what we use, consume and rely on is brought in by ship to Vancouver and then transported over to us.
“If it doesn’t get off the ship in Vancouver, then we’re in trouble.”
Seaspan, which carries cargo on ferries to and from Duke Point and the Lower Mainland, said the longshoreman lockout is not affecting its operations “at this early stage.”
“It is business as usual for now.”
Cruise ships are not affected by the dispute.
The Greater Victoria Harbour Authority is monitoring developments in the labour dispute, said spokesman Richard Davies, noting longshoremen also assist non-cruise vessels.
Davies said there are currently no vessels docked at Ogden Point — two vessels departed on Sunday evening in advance of the lockout.
Fiona Famulak, chief executive of the ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Chamber of Commerce, said the organization supports the right to collective bargaining and is disappointed that no new agreement has been reached.
She called on all parties to work together to find a resolution quickly. “Our port infrastructure is too critical to the health and success of businesses and workers to have this dispute continue one moment longer.
“It will only serve to inflict further harm to our provincial and national economies and our international reputation as a reliable trading partner.”
A long-term solution delivering stability at ports is needed, Famulak said.
The employers and the workers represented by Local 514 have been without a contract since March 2023.
There were several days of mediated talks last week in an attempt to break the deadlock, but a “final offer” from the employers resulted in the union responding with a notice for strike action, which prompted the employers to lock out workers starting Monday.
The union has called the province wide lockout an overreaction to its plans for implementing only an overtime ban, adding that it believes the employers are trying to force the federal government to intervene.
The employers, meanwhile, said they had to lock out workers because a strike notice allows the union to escalate job action without notice.
The employers association also said its final offer — which remains on the table — included a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year agreement ending in 2027 and is a fair deal “that recognizes the skills and efforts of 730 hard-working forepersons and their families.”
The union said the offer did not address its concerns over minimum guaranteed staffing requirements, given that port automation has been introduced.
Union president Frank Morena has said the union’s negotiators are ready to re-engage in talks at any time.
The ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ Maritime Employers Association says no negotiations are scheduled.
The lockout is the latest in a number of disruptions at the Port of Vancouver this year, with a work stoppage at both major national railways and pickets going up at grain terminals hindering shipping through the port in the summer and fall.
A 13-day strike froze trade through ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ ports in July 2023.
Greater Vancouver Board of Trade president Bridgitte Anderson said the current work stoppage at the Port of Vancouver — ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½’s largest — comes at a critical time for the economy, and her organization is calling on the federal government to “intervene immediately.”
Anderson said the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade launched a Port Shutdown Calculator during the 2023 work stoppage to illustrate the economic costs, and the web page had been relaunched in the latest dispute.
“It is imperative that the Canadian government prioritizes economic growth, supply chain, stability, trade and investment, particularly at this critical time,” Anderson said, noting the U.S. presidential election and the likelihood of protectionist policies requiring ÎÚÑ»´«Ã½ to up its game in the global trade market.
“We need to ensure that we show we have stable supply chains and that we are a reliable trading partner and that our economy is growing,” she said. “That has not been the narrative over the last couple of years, and so it is very concerning.”
The Board of Trade said the latest port shutdown would disrupt $800 million worth of goods daily, with every hour of the closure fuelling inflation.
