Business groups ask government for labour changes after end of B.C. port dispute

Business groups continued to call on the federal government to take action in the wake of the recently resolved British Columbia port workers dispute on Saturday, arguing Ottawa must ensure such a disruption never happens again.

But the federal government is walking a difficult tightrope between the demands of the business community and protecting workers' constitutional rights, labour experts said.

"On one hand, they obviously don't want to offend the very powerful business community. On the other hand, they don't want to alienate the labour groups they've been courting for years," said Larry Savage, a professor in the labour studies department at Brock University.

The union representing about 7,400 B.C. port workers announced Friday that members had voted almost 75 per cent in favour of their latest contract offer, ending five weeks of turbulence that stopped the shipping of billions of dollars' worth of goods.

This included a 13-day strike that began on Canada Day, affecting more than 30 B.C. port terminals and other related sites.

After the results of the ratification vote were announced, federal Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan issued a statement saying he was directing federal officials to review the entire case to avoid a port disruption of this magnitude from happening in the future.

"This dispute caused serious disruption to our supply chains, risking our strong international reputation as a reliable trading partner. We do not want to be back here again," said O'Regan, adding, "We will have more to say on this soon."

Representatives from O'Regan's office offered no further comment on Saturday.

B.C.'s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure welcomed the new contract and said it will begin rolling out further "actions to support goods movement and economic growth in B.C" in the coming months.

"In B.C. we will continue to strengthen our supply chain network by focused on integrating our infrastructure projects into a well-planned and forward-thinking transportation trade network," a spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to CBC on Saturday.

The Liberal government has been under intense pressure to settle the port dispute for weeks, said Savage.

Business groups and some political leaders called for back-to-work legislation amid the dispute and say concrete action is still needed now that it has come to an end, with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business asking the feds to designate ports as an essential service and scrap its promise to ban replacement workers.

The strike and the uncertainty it caused have been costly for small businesses, federation President Dan Kelly said in a statement Saturday.

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British Columbia ports are not the only sites of tense labour disputes this summer, as frustration over wages and job security prompt other strikes across the country, from Manitoba Liquor Marts to Toronto supermarkets.

"Although the work stoppage is over, it will take weeks for the backlog to be addressed and, as a result, the financial consequences for small businesses across Canada will be challenging for months to come."

Kelly said the situation shows an urgent need to rethink Canadian labour laws so that the broader economy and Canada's international reputation are considered in the cases of strikes and lockouts in critical areas.

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce also chimed in, with Vice-President Robin Guy issuing a statement saying Ottawa needs to "consider providing new tools that can be used in the face of labour disputes in sectors that are critical to Canada's supply chain."

Back-to-work legislation shouldn't be default: prof

The changes being called for by business groups, if enacted, would weaken workers' rights and powers in negotiations and sweep key issues under the rug, said Barry Eidlin, an associate professor of sociology at McGill University specializing in labour movements and labour policy.

But some would also be difficult to enact, he said. Workers have constitutional rights when it comes to labour action, including striking.

Eidlin said throughout the B.C. ports dispute, he was struck by what he described as an an ongoing pattern in Canadian labour relations that sees calls for back-to-work legislation floated as a default response in some quarters.

"That is just a very destructive dynamic for having healthy industrial relations," he said. "It basically short-circuits the collective bargaining process and puts the thumb on the scales for the employer side, and then reduces their incentive to actually bargain."

This issue is a "minefield" for the Liberal government, Savage added.

"If they do what the business community wants, they will not only alienate organized labour but they will also potentially find themselves violating the Charter of Rights," he said.

The Liberals and the NDP have promised anti-scab legislation through their supply-and-confidence agreement, noted Savage, something the labour movement has sought for more than two decades.

While no details have emerged about the four-year deal covering the B.C. port workers, the employers association said in a statement that it "includes increases in wages, benefits and training that recognizes the skills and efforts of B.C.'s waterfront workforce."

The two sides had been negotiating since February, with the last agreement expiring at the end of March. The main points of contention had been protecting jobs against automation and the contracting out of maintenance work to third parties.