Vancouver dockers resume talks, but truckers still threaten strike vote

LABOUR talks have resumed in Vancouver, averting a January 2 strike threat that would have closed the Port of Vancouver and Prince Rupert, crippling Asia-Canada trade.

But Vancouver truckers still threaten a strike vote later this month over objections to independent operators calling themselves employees of licensed corporate entities that they create themselves to evade rules restricting port access to employee drivers.

The Vancouver Container Truck Association/Canadian Auto Workers (VCTA-CAW), representing 750 harbour truckers, also charge independents with undercutting contracted freight rates, thus threatening union incomes as trade gravitates to cheaper rates, reported Newark's Journal of Commerce.

But for the moment, the International Longshore and Warehousemen's Union and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), are again talking after the threatened strike by 450 dockside foremen, which has induced shippers to divert cargo to Seattle and Tacoma, reported Lloyd's List.

With the highly volatile global economy in recession, it is imperative that our Pacific Gateway remains open, said Capt Stephen Brown, president of the Chamber of Shipping, the voice for British Columbia's marine industry.

Source: Schednet