July 8, 2024

On Friday July 5, International Longshore & Warehouse Union (ILU) Local 514 served 72-hour strike notice on one BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) member, DP World Inc., effective Monday, July 8 at 4:30 pm. The strike action was not intended to be a full shutdown, but rather included a ban on overtime and “work activities associated with manual development, training, and the Centerm electronic dispatch/foremen tracking spreadsheet implementation.”

On Saturday, July 6, the BCMEA requested urgent intervention by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to declare the strike illegal. However, in anticipation of the strike possibly being allowed to proceed, the BCMEA also took the step to serve a 72-hour coast-wide lockout notice to the union.

On July 7th, the CIRB determined that ILU Local 514's declaration of strike action against DP World (Canada) Inc. is in contravention of the Canada Labour Code. The CIRB found the union failed to bargain in good faith when it conducted a strike vote amongst employees of only one member employer of the BCMEA and issued a strike notice based on that strike vote.

As a result of the CIRB decision, the BCMEA rescinded their lockout notice.

As of noon on July 8th, operations continue as normal. BCTA will keep you apprised of developments.