ottawa –
Labor Minister Stephen McKinnon is stepping in to resolve work stoppages at both British Columbia and Montreal ports.
The minister said Tuesday that negotiations have reached an impasse and he is directing the Canada Labor Relations Board to order all port operations to resume and move negotiations to binding arbitration.
He said the work stoppage at the Ports of British Columbia and Montreal is having a major impact on supply chains, thousands of jobs and Canada’s reputation as a reliable trading partner.
“A negotiated agreement is the best way forward, but we cannot allow other Canadians to suffer because one party does not fulfill its responsibility to reach an agreement,” MacKinnon said in a statement announcing the decision. said.
“It is my duty and responsibility to act in the interests of businesses, workers, farmers, families and all Canadians.”
The Maritime Employers Association locked out 1,200 longshore workers at the Port of Montreal on Sunday night after workers voted to reject what the employer called a final contract offer.
The employment action comes after British Columbia longshoremen were locked out last week amid a labor dispute involving more than 700 longshore supervisors, resulting in the paralysis of container cargo traffic at West Coast terminals. It was done.
Business groups had called for government intervention to get goods flowing again.
McKinnon said he expects port operations to be restored within days.
The minister’s move to lift the suspension comes after the government intervened in August to lift suspensions on Canada’s two major railways using the same mechanism.
The decision is being challenged as unconstitutional, Alison Braley Latai, an associate professor of labor studies at Brock University, said in an email.
He said the mechanism would allow the government to bypass the process of passing return-to-work legislation, so it would not have to rely on support from other parties.
“What we’re seeing now, at least in the federal sector, seems very cynical,” she said, as employers rush to shut down operations to seek government arbitration.
Braley Rattay added that there are consequences for government intervention in labor disputes, saying that if employers believe they can use lockouts to obtain binding arbitration, “lockouts are clearly “It could be an incentive to drag out negotiations to the point where it looks like the next step,” he added. ”
“Continuing to rely on binding arbitration may make it more difficult for parties to actually reach an independently negotiated settlement in the future,” she said.
“Governments should therefore exercise restraint in their intervention.”
McKinnon said at a news conference Tuesday morning that he did not take the decision to intervene in the collective bargaining process lightly, but said all negotiations were stalled with no immediate way forward. This created uncertainty over the duration of the suspension and created substantial economic risks, he said.
“And Canadians currently have limited tolerance for economic self-harm,” he said.
In a press release, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said it was relieved the government was taking steps to protect Canada’s supply chain, but urged the government to designate the port as a critical port to ensure it is not subject to such suspensions in the future. I asked.
The current conflict began less than a year and a half after various workers went on strike for 13 days in July 2023 at most of B.C.’s port terminals.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
