The union representing workers at terminals in Metro Vancouver issued 72-hour strike notice on Saturday and will be in a position to strike at 7 a.m. local time Tuesday.
In a notice to members posted onto its Facebook Page, the Grain Workers Union Local 333 claimed its bargaining committee made the decision to strike after the Vancouver Terminal Elevators Association (VTEA) “invested very little effort” during negotiations last week.
Wade Sobkowich, the Executive Director of the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), says issues include wages, pension, and scheduling, and both parties have been far apart since negotiations started in November of last year. He noted the Vancouver Terminal Elevators Association has made three offers to the union, with the union turning down all of them. The union says it provided a “comprehensive package” last Thursday and the next day the VTEA indicated it had no counter offer.
“That’s where we’re at, it’s really a bad time.” said Sobkowich. “Harvest is just over and not only that but we’re trying to get these canola vessels out before what we expect to be either a tariff or a ban on canola coming out of Canada into China; and we’re not sure what the timeline is going to be for that…it hasn’t been decided yet and we don’t know that there is really going to be one, but we expect there could be, and so we’re trying to get these boats out as quickly as we can.
“We think the union knows that and they’re using that as a lever in the conversation.”
The threat of a strike comes not long after the dispute between CPKC & CN Rail and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which disrupted rail service for a few days. Sobkowich says it shows how fragile the supply chain is in Canada.
“We are concerned, labour seems to be the biggest problem we have in terms of disruption to supply chains these days. Part of it has to do with the political environment that we’re in, and you know, it almost tends to snowball where one employee group takes action then other employee groups want to do the same thing to show their worth and value, and so I think that’s part of what we’re seeing right now is, broadly speaking, an imbalance between employers and employees for that reason.
He says the impact of a strike is unknown right now but it could be similar to the impact the railways felt.
“The terminals have more capacity than the railways do,” explains Sobkowich, “we end up moving grain or making sales based on rail capacity. It depends on the railways – if they’re able to move other product now while there is a stoppage in grain and then provide more grain in the weeks to come, then the terminals have more capacity to unload, blend, and load out that grain onto vessels, so there’s some slight differences there.”
A strike would impact terminals owned by Viterra, Richardson International, Cargill, G3, and Alliance Grain Terminal, all located in Vancouver and North Vancouver. This would also have a financial impact in the form of vessel demurrage charges between $16-18-thousand US per day and defaulting on contracts.
It’s also a serious concern of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS). “This is another gut punch for farmers,” Boxall stated Monday. “Our farmers are again caught in the crossfire of labour disputes far from their fields, facing the consequences of halted grain shipments. It’s high time for assertive government action to safeguard our supply chain integrity.
“We remain optimistic that a collective agreement can be successfully reached in the short term, however, it requires an outcome that is fair and equitable for both sides.”
APAS notes grain is deemed essential for vessel loading under clause 87.7 of the Canada Labour Code, however the provision does not cover terminal operations’ grain workers. They’re urging the Minister of Labour, Steven MacKinnon, to resolve the deadlock and prevent “further damage to Saskatchewan’s agricultural sector and Canada’s reputation as a reliable grain supplier.”