The strike by dockworkers that had shutdown 30 seaports across British Columbia and stranded billions of dollars worth of trade off Canada’s west coast has ended after 13 days.
Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan announced an end to the port shutdown on social media, saying that a tentative deal has been reached between the International Longshore and Warehouse Union that represents 7,400 dockworkers and the B.C. Maritime Employers Association that represents the ports.
Details of the new four-year agreement were not disclosed, but dockworkers had been bargaining for better wages and an end to the contracting out of work.
The deal now needs to be voted on and ratified by the union membership.
The dockworkers had been on strike since July 1, stranding shipments largely from Asia that typically get processed at B.C.’s ports, including Vancouver, which is Canada’s busiest port.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade has estimated that more than 60,000 shipping containers are waiting to be unloaded at B.C. ports due to the strike. It is expected to take weeks to clear the backlog, and disruptions to supply chains are anticipated.
While much of the cargo that was destined for B.C. was moved south to ports along the U.S. west coast for processing, there is still, by some estimates, nearly $10 billion of goods sitting on cargo ships off Canada’s west coast waiting to be unloaded and shipped inland.