British Columbia ports head toward lockout as labor talks stall

The ILWU had served Nov. 1 a 72-hour strike notice followed by the BCMEA announcing a full-scale industry-wide lockout of workers for all ports in the Canadian province.“Both parties have been at the bargaining table for a long time now without any indications that a strike or lockout would occur,” Shri Madiwal, Vice President, Operations and Supply Chain, Port of Vancouver, said.

“As of now, all terminals and ports would be impacted, but with that said, operationally, the Port of Vancouver remains fluid. The import dwell times are best among all West Coast ports with some destinations as low as less than one day, as compared to other West Coast ports that can be 10+ days,” he added.

The BMCEA in its final offer proposed a 19.2% wage increase and an average $21,000 lump sum payment, inclusive of a signing bonus of $1.97/hour worked in 2022 and a retroactive payback to April 1, 2023.

“ILWU Local 514’s industry-wide strike activity is untenable for West Coast port operators and their supply chain partners who are involved in complex multi-billion-dollar equipment that relies on stability, reliability, and forecasting to function,” the BMCEA said in a statement Nov. 4. “Accordingly, to facilitate a safe and orderly wind-down of operations, the BCMEA made the difficult choice to issue a formal notice of its intention to lock out ILWU Local 514, effective November 4 at 16:30 PT.”

While the labor dispute does not affect bulk grain, some coal and cruise operations at the port, including those with time-sensitive cargoes, could be impacted, Madiwal added.

On the Canadian East Coast, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees local 375 started an indefinite strike Oct. 31, impacting Viau and Maisonneuve marine terminals at the Port of Montreal.

“The strike at the two terminals will idle more than 1 million TEUs of Montreal’s total 2.3 million TEUs in terminal capacity,” the Journal of Commerce, part of S&P Global, said.

For West Coast ports like Vancouver, a full day of port closure takes approximately three days to recover.

Madiwal said. “Unlike the ILA strike on the US East and Gulf Coast, we will not see major fleet outside of the ports, so rates should not see much impact unless carriers impose surcharges.”

Container freight rates remained steady amid the impending strikes. Platts assessed PCR 23 Southeast Asia-West Coast North America at $4,400/FEU Nov. 4, stable on the day, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.

“Inventory levels with retailers are still normal despite front loading, so the demand is strong,” Madiwal said.

The port authority is hoping for a quick resolution to the strike and lockout, according to Madiwal .