(Reuters) — West coast dockworkers in Canada and their employers’ association have reached a settlement agreement, the parties said, as they look to end a dispute that risked further disruptions at the country’s busiest ports.
Both the International Longshore and Warehouse Canada Union (ILWU) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) are recommending the ratification of the new agreement, they said in a joint statement yesterday.
The ILWU, representing about 7,500 dockworkers, had been negotiating a new contract with BCMEA for months.
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“Our ports are operating, but this deal — made by the parties — would mean long-term stability,” federal labour minister Seamus O’Regan said in a social media post today.
O’Regan said on Saturday he could impose a new collective agreement or a final binding agreement on the dockworkers.
The strike has upended operations at two of Canada’s three busiest ports, the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert, gateways for exporting natural resources and commodities and bringing in raw materials.
Bob Dhaliwal, secretary treasurer of the ILWU, said new ratification votes would be scheduled but was not immediately able to give a timeline.
“It’s a complicated process,” he said by email on Monday.
Workers walked off the job for 13 days earlier this month over disagreements about issues including wage increases and expanding the union’s jurisdiction to regular maintenance work on terminals.
Neither the union nor the employers’ association disclosed details of the new deal, which was reached with the assistance of the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).
The tentative agreement comes two days after workers turned down a proposed labour contract, following which O’Regan directed the CIRB to resolve the dispute.
That rejected deal had provided a compounded wage increase of 19.2 percent and increased retirement payouts in 2026 to $96,250 for eligible retiring employees, over and above employees’ pension entitlements, according to the employers’ association.
