Toronto (Canada), July 10 (EFE). Talks to end a strike by dockers on Canada’s Pacific coast, which began 10 days ago and is affecting the daily movement of products worth C$500 million (US$376 million), resumed on Monday.
Representatives of Longshore and Warehouse Canada (Ilwuc) and the employers’ association, the BC Marine Employers Association, have resumed negotiations to bridge positions with the help of federal mediators.
The strike of 7,400 Ilwuc members crippled 30 ports in the province of British Columbia, including Vancouver, Canada’s busiest and through which 25% of the country’s international trade passes.
The Confederation of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters estimated that the strike was affecting the movement of goods worth C$500 million each day.
Workers are demanding better wages and job guarantees due to the increase in automation and the use of non-union workers.
For its part, the Employers Association, which includes 49 companies, said in a statement last Saturday that the union had rejected all proposals submitted so far.
Business associations and the governments of several provinces in the country called on the federal executive to intervene to end the strike. So far, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refused to force union members to return to their jobs. EFE
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