After a rollercoaster month of negotiations, uncertainty, and supply chain disruptions, port workers in BC finally have a new deal.
Roughly 75 percent of International Longshore and Warehouse Union members voted in favour of the deal over a two-day vote last week.
It was the second vote in as many weeks, after members opted to reject an initial settlement proposed by Federal mediators on July 13th.
That had ended a 13 day strike, but members ultimately determined it failed to protect jobs from third party contractors, or address training needs.
Now, both the Union and the BC Maritime Employers Association have ratified an agreement reached on July 31st, after 5 months of negotiations.
Details of the agreement were not released, but the Association says it will bring certainty and stability to BC’s ports.
With the dispute having disrupted billions in cargo, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan has instructed federal officials to look into how to prevent it from ever happening again.
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