Maritime Employers Association News

Dock workers in western Canada voted to accept an improved labor contract after a month-long dispute that affected trade and disrupted operations at the country's busiest ports, their union said on Friday.The vote was 74.66% in favor of the terms of the settlement, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) said in a statement.Disagreements in contract negotiations have disrupted billions of dollars in trade, raising concerns about fueling inflation.The union provisionally agreed to a new contract on Sunday…

Dock workers on Canada's West Coast and their employers said they reached a new labor agreement, averting an immediate strike, as they sought to end a dispute that has disrupted operations at the country's busiest ports.The International Longshore and Warehouse Canada Union (ILWU) and the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) are recommending the ratification of the deal, they said in a joint statement late on Sunday.

Dock workers at ports along Canada's Pacific coast rejected a tentative four-year wage deal agreed with their employers last week and returned to the picket line, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) said on Tuesday.The ILWU represents some 7,500 dock workers, who walked off the job on July 1 after failing to reach a new work contract with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), which represents the companies involved.In a statement released Tuesday afternoon…

The world's biggest fertilizer producer Nutrien Ltd cut production on Tuesday, citing the impact of an 11-day-old strike in Canada's Pacific ports whose cost has now ballooned to an estimated C$5.5 billion ($4.2 billion).Some 7,500 dock workers represented by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) walked off on July 1 after failing to agree a new wage deal with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA).The union says the BCMEA is refusing to give a fair pay increase despite making billions of dollars in profits in recent years.

Talks in Pacific Canada between striking dock workers and their employers have resumed after four days away from the negotiation table, a statement on Saturday by the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) showed.The BCMEA and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU Canada) met on Saturday, supported by federal mediators, the statement said. The talks had stalled on Tuesday and the two sides broke off negotiations.Some 7,500 port workers went on strike on July 1 for higher wages…

Striking dockworkers at Canada's second-biggest port will gradually return to work on Saturday, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) said, after the federal government passed a law to end the walkout.Late on Friday, the Canadian government passed back-to-work legislation to halt the strike, which workers at the Port of Montreal began on Monday over changes to their work schedules."Our priority now is to plan for the resumption of port operations and to ensure efficient and seamless service…

Dockworkers at Canada's second largest port on Monday began their second strike in less than a year, as business leaders urged Ottawa to quickly end a walkout they said could cost the economy C$25 million ($20 million) a day.The federal Liberal government said on Sunday it would introduce special legislation to end the strike at the Port of Montreal, hoping to stop it from hurting the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.Unionized workers, in talks for a new contract since 2018…

Canada's manufacturers on Monday asked the federal government to curb a brewing labor dispute after dockworkers at the country's second largest port said they will work less this week.Unionized dockworkers, who are in talks for a new contract since 2018, will hold a partial strike starting Tuesday, by refusing all overtime outside of their normal day shifts, along with weekend work, they said in a statement on Monday.The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Quebec's 1,125…

Longshore workers at Canada's biggest port, the Port of Vancouver, were locked out on Thursday in a labor dispute over technology changes, temporarily grinding most shipping there to a halt. The lockout ended in a deal on Thursday with their employer after a few hours, the workers' union said.A tentative agreement on a new contract was reached with the BC Maritime Employers Association, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada said in a statement. Jim Thompson, a spokesman for the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada…

Thousands of longshore workers at Canada's biggest port, the Port of Vancouver, were locked out on Thursday, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said.The B.C. Maritime Employers Association, which represents 55 companies, such as ship owners and terminal operators at the port, issued a notice this week that it would lock out some 6,000 workers who load and unload ships due to a labor dispute. (Reuters, Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba and Kelsey Johnson in Ottawa; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Kongsberg GlobalSim has been awarded a contract with the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) of Montreal, Canada to supply several K-Sim Lift Training Simulators for heavy lift port equipment. The simulator system will include training modules for seven different types of heavy lift equipment, and will feature three different student-training stations to expand the training program in Montreal. “The simulator will be the first step of every training program, for each type of equipment we use in Montreal,” said Sebastien Lambert, MEA’s Training Coordinator.

British Colombia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) inform that the Government of Canada, the Province of British Columbia and Port Metro Vancouver are taking coordinated action to address the work disruption at Port Metro Vancouver, Canada’s Asia-Pacific gateway. Port Metro Vancouver will begin its planned reform of the licensing system and move to terminate licenses. The Government of British Columbia is preparing back-to-work legislation with a 90-day cooling off period for 250 truckers who are members of Unifor…

The Maritime Employers Association & the Longshoremen's Union Local 375 sign a new 6 year collective agreement. The Maritime Employers Association and Local 375 CUPE Longshoremen's have just inked a new collective agreement which will allow the Port of Montreal to continue its operations while remaining competitive and ensuring its growth. The Memorandum of Agreement, signed on January 4, 2013 by both parties, has now been presented to union members attending the union meeting. The new collective is valid for a 6 year period and the negotiations focused mainly on both parties' priorities. The M.E.A.'s concerns were workload flexibility as well as discussions of a Job Security program better suited to current reality.

Peter I. Keller, President of NYK Line (North America) Inc., has been selected the 2009 Person of the Year by the New York/New Jersey Foreign Freight Forwarders and Brokers Association, Inc. "Peter Keller has significantly impacted the global trade community and demonstrated great leadership in the international transport industry," said Matthew Brauner, Association President. The award will be presented during the 92nd annual dinner at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York on January 28, 2009. This event draws nearly 900 guests. The dinner will also feature a sports and entertainment memorabilia auction. Peter Keller was elected to the Governing Board of NYK in Tokyo in April of 2007.

A dispute over the use of nonunion labor and wages that has shut down nearly all shipments through Canada's West Coast ports entered its fourth day Wednesday, with no sign of a resolution in sight. Most shippers have switched to ports in the U.S. since the lockout of longshore workers began on Sunday. But there was concern over added costs and possible congestion problems at alternative facilities. No negotiations are planned between the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union of Canada, and both sides have rejected calls for the federal government to intervene.

A dispute over the use of nonunion labor and wages that has shut down nearly all shipments through Canada's West Coast ports entered its fourth day last Wednesday, with no sign of a resolution in sight. Most shippers have switched to ports in the U.S. since the lockout of longshore workers began on Sunday. But there was concern over added costs and possible congestion problems at alternative facilities. No negotiations are planned between the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore & Warehouse Union of Canada, and both sides have rejected calls for the federal government to intervene. "There is no need for Ottawa to become involved," union President Tom Defresne said.

Maritime employers agreed last week to end a lockout at Canada's West Coast ports that stalled millions of dollars in cargo shipments for eight days in a dispute over wages and the use of nonunion workers. The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA)accepted a government mediator's recommended settlement soon after the leadership caucus of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union also endorsed the proposal. The federal government had threatened to force a settlement on the two sides through back-to-work legislation if they did not end the dispute themselves last Monday. Although the union's general membership did not vote until Tuesday…