‘Our employers gorged themselves on record profits’: B.C. port workers’ union speaks on negotiations
strike continues Sunday morning, and talks have resumed after a 33-hour negotiation period failed to find a deal on Friday and Saturday.Late Sunday afternoon, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Canada provided an update in a press conference.“I was in hopes that sometime (Sunday) or earlier we would be coming with a better announcement but we do not have one,” Rob Ashton said, ILWU Canada’s national president“When all Canadians were asked to stay home and stay safe — our people had to go to work 24 hours a day, seven days a week in unsafe conditions. Longshore workers stepped up in this historic time.“Our employers gorged themselves on record profits.
Now, they seem to have forgotten the sacrifices our people made. (Sunday) they refused to acknowledge those great efforts by our members.Ashton continued, “The BCMEA put out a statement about bargaining proposals — it has been the union that has been moving proposals and reacting in record time.
Over the last few weeks before we issued the strike notice, the employers would give us a proposal and we would respond that day. They would then take seven to 10 days to respond to our proposal.”“They refused to meet with us and that is when this union decided to take strike action.”Ashton said talks will continue, but was adamant that the federal government should stay out of the negotiation.“It has been almost 30 years since our union was last on strike.
The federal government must stay out of our business. If the BCMEA gets (its) way and its way is to let the government make the agreement for them – there will never be labour peace on the waterfront,” he said.“My committee must go back to work (at the negotiating table) because we’re here to the end.“We do
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