Approximately 74-hundred port workers are back on the picket line in British Columbia. Their union leadership rejected a deal presented by the employer which it says included increases to wages and benefits that they viewed as a fair deal.

The deal did not even go to a full membership vote. The mediated deal reached last week temporarily ended a 13-day strike which has left an estimated 10 billion dollars in goods backed up at B.C.’s 30 ports. The CFIB had already estimated it could take months to clear the backlog.

Business leaders are pushing for the federal government to act to end the labour dispute. The Canadian Federation of Independent Business says to let the strike carry on any further is negligent and will amplify disruptions of the supply chain. The CFIB wants the government to pass back-to-work legislation to end the strike.

Alberta’s premier is echoing that sentiment. Danielle Smith says the federal government must reconvene parliament and legislate these workers return to work.

Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe says the work stoppage at the Port of Vancouver has already had a devastating impact on Saskatchewan’s economy and he suggests jobs and export-based industries are at stake.  Moe was encouraged that the federal government had worked out a federally mediated deal between the two sides bringing the strike to a halt last week but he says, “It is now time to provide certainty and stop this new disruption immediately.”

Official statement from CFIB on resumption of port strike:

The union’s decision at BC ports to reject the mediated agreement is irresponsible and will prolong the devastating impacts of the strike. The 13-day strike had already done significant damage to small businesses across the country and Canada’s international reputation as a dependable trading partner. To let it carry on any further is negligent and will amplify disruptions of the supply chain. Our economy and our small businesses do not have the luxury of waiting months for MPs to return to Ottawa before BC ports operations resume. CFIB is calling on government to pass back-to-work legislation to end the strike, clear the backlog and get our economy back on track.

– Corinne Pohlmann, Executive Vice-President, CFIB