CANADIAN PORT STRIKE UPDATE

As reported by the JOC.com late yesterday afternoon, Canada’s Labor Minister ordered binding arbitration in contract disputes between maritime employers and longshore workers, forcing ports to reopen.

'Steve MacKinnon said in a statement that he has invoked authority under Canada’s labor code that will force longshore unions in British Columbia and Montreal and their respective employer groups to come to terms on new collective bargaining agreements with the aid of a government arbitrator.

In advance of the arbitration proceedings, MacKinnon also said his agency will order the reopening of ports in those jurisdictions, with previously expired longshore contracts being extended in the interim.

MacKinnon’s move will end a nearly two-week work stoppage at the ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert after the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) locked out members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 after its vote for a strike.’

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