Labour minister pressed to end B.C. port labour dispute amid renewed strike notice

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan is under renewed pressure to bring an end to a revived strike by port workers in British Columbia, now that the workers' union has given notice of plans to return to the picket lines this weekend after being told their latest job action was 'unlawful.'

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan is under renewed pressure to bring an end to a revived strike by port workers in British Columbia, now that the workers' union has given notice of plans to return to the picket lines this weekend after being told their latest job action was "unlawful."

What appeared to be a victory for the federal government—the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruling the resumption of the strike on Tuesday was against Canadian labour laws—was short-lived on Wednesday.

Now, business groups are calling on O'Regan to press ahead with back-to-work legislation to limit the further economic impacts of halted cargo piling up at busy Canadian ports.

In a ruling on Wednesday responding to an application made by the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) against the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), seeking a declaration of an unlawful strike, the labour board ruled in the employers' favour.

Finding that because the union did not give the requisite 72-hour notice of the strike action before B.C. port workers returned to the picket lines on Tuesday after six days back on the job, the labour board ordered strikers to "cease and desist from participating in strike activities" until it met a series of Canada Labour Code requirements.

"This strike is illegal," O'Regan tweeted, alongside a copy of the ruling.

While the union did move to take down picket lines at the Port of Vancouver on Wednesday, within a few hours of the labour ruling, BCMEA confirmed Wednesday that it had received a new 72-hour strike notice from ILWU, signalling plans to resume on cross-province picketing at 9 a.m. PST on Saturday.