It is day four of the strike by 74-hundred British Columbia port workers.

The Union has agreed to service grain vessels as well as cruise ships during the strike however, the B-C Maritime Employers Association says, in an update on negotiations, that it has gone as far as possible on core issues. The Association also says the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada’s proposals for compensation are unreasonable, and well outside the established norm of union settlements in Canada.

The union also issued an update on negotiations saying, in regard to compensation, the member employers of the BCMEA have enjoyed record high profits for many years now and especially during the pandemic. The Union feels it is reasonable for the workers that helped to achieve those record profits in the first place to have a fair and equitable share of them. The ILWU also says the association was trying to muddy the waters with a last-minute change of position.

Yesterday the B-C Maritime Employers Association declared that further bargaining was unlikely to produce a deal.

Canadian West Coast ports handle almost $225 billion worth of cargo a year.