Labour minister asks mediator for terms to end B.C. port strike
BNN Bloomberg
Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan has given a federal mediator 24 hours to send him recommended terms to end the British Columbia port strike that has snarled cargo in about 30 ports and spurred fears of supply chain chaos across Canada.
O'Regan said in a statement issued late Tuesday that the gap between the positions of employers and the port workers union in the 11-day-old strike is "not sufficient to justify a continued work stoppage."
He said that once he has received the terms from the mediator, he will forward them to both sides and they will have another 24 hours to decide whether to ratify the principles of the deal.
About 7,400 members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada have been on strike since July 1, halting cargo in and out of ports in B.C., including Canada's largest, the Port of Vancouver.
