In July 2017, the U.S. International Longshore and Warehouse Union signed a three-year extension of its contract with the Pacific Maritime Association. The original collective agreement ended a stalemate that disrupted freight movement through major U.S. West Coast ports from mid-2014 to early 2015 and diverted some of that northbound traffic to the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert. Negotiations resumed at noon yesterday and an interim agreement was reached this morning following a new round of discussions at the negotiating table. With the conclusion of this contract, Scott said, bcMEA is “the parties can meet quickly enough to conclude this agreement.” Pressure to reach an agreement between BCMEA and ILWU, which has 6,000 members, intensified after successful negotiations on new collective agreements between Longshore unions and port employers in the United States. Scott said negotiations with Local 514 had ended in recent months, while BCMEA and ILWU focused on securing an agreement on their contract. “We are delighted to have reached an interim agreement with ILWU. We appreciate the efforts of both parties to focus on an agreement and ensure that BC ports remain open for business. The closure has been lifted and we look forward to getting back to normal. We thank the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Services (CSF) and in particular Peter Simpson and Kathy Peters, as well as the Minister of Labour, The Honourable Patty Hajdu, for their support in this process. We are confident that this agreement, once signed, will provide a positive long-term outlook for trade and operations in our terminals, for the province and for the country,” said Jeff Scott, Chairman of the BcMEA Board of Directors During the first year of the agreement, employees will receive a lump sum payment of $3.67 per hour total. , paid in the previous year.
The payment would be approximately $7,350 for full-time employment. The last Foremen contract expired on 31 March 2019 and negotiations resumed shortly after the ratification of the long-hore collective agreement at the end of June. Last September, the International Longshoremen`s Association (ILA) ratified an agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX). The six-year contract helps ensure the stability of labour and port services at the ports of U.S. ports on the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico until 2024. The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) -Canada are pleased to announce that they have reached a preliminary agreement that will allow all BC ports to be a competitive, efficient and reliable gateway for the benefit of all Canadians. The provisional agreement is subject to the ratification reserve. A 96-month renewal contract, which came into effect from April 1, 2010 to March 31, 2018, was concluded in January 2012 during the conciliation phase.
Negotiation duration – 26 months. Both sides formally announced the ratification of the new collective agreement on June 25.