The federal government has no plans to intervene in the lockout that
has shut down grain shipments at the port of Vancouver.
The Canadian Wheat Board has asked Ottawa to “do whatever is necessary”
to ensure that grain terminal operations at the port return to normal
as quickly as possible.
The board says that while the month-long lockout of grain workers by
employers at the five big Vancouver terminals has had no effect on
grain exports to date, that could change in the post-harvest period.
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But a spokesperson for labour minister Claudette Bradshaw said Ottawa
won get involved in the dispute between the Grainworkers Union and the
B.C. Terminal Elevator Operators Association.
“The parties have the responsibility to sit down and negotiate a
collective agreement,” David Klug said Sept. 30.
He added the government is ready to provide mediation or conciliation
services if asked, but isn’t feeling pressured to do more.
“The grain is still moving, what grain there is, through Prince
Rupert,” he said.
The two sides have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2000. The
grain companies locked out the 657 members of the GWU Aug. 25, and the
two sides have held no talks since then.
