Canada’s 3,500 west coast longshore workers have won a new contract after almost a year and a half of negotiations. The new eight-year agreement was overwhelmingly ratified by members in early May. Key points of the new agreement include:
- Wage increases averaging 3.5% each year
- Inflation protection via “cost of living adjustments” in years 6,7 and 8.
- New provisions for paid maternity and paternity leave
Before the old contract expired on March 31, 2010, workers had voted by 95% to authorize a strike if necessary, but a 72-hour strike notice was never issued. The last longshore job action on Canada’s western waterfront was initiated by employers in 1999 when they briefly locked-out workers.
Negotiating the new contract was difficult because employers adopted an aggressive stance. Canada’s Industrial Relation Board described the negotiations as “…often infected by a fierce employer lobbying campaign against the ILWU.” The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) tried to gain leverage over ILWU members by enlisting support from Canada’s anti-union government, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Employers also used a report on efficiency at the docks – written by an anti-union academic expert – to generate negative media reports that were aimed at adding pressure on union members to grant employer concessions.
Among the concessions sought but not secured by the BCMEA was a plan to settle disputes through binding arbitration instead of the current right of negotiate and strike if necessary. Union president Tom Dufresne described the new agreement as fair, noting that the eight year term was longer than he and others had wanted, but came with pension increases and other improvements that were popular and important to members.
ILWU Local 514 members are still negotiating their agreement which covers foremen.