Contract reached through negotiation but parties divided on future of that model
At a time when most agreements are not extending beyond a few years, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) and the B.C. Maritime Employers Assn. (BCMEA) have reached an historic eight-year agreement.
“We were looking for a contract that reflected the stability and security of the port,” said Greg Verdula, vice-president of marketing and IT with the BCMEA.
The deal includes an average wage increase of 3.5 per cent every year of the agreement, plus a cost of living factor starting in year six to protect workers if inflation exceeds their wage in the final three years of the agreement. It also includes maternity and paternity top-up benefits for the first time, and a 40 per cent increase in pension contributions.
While the union was not in favour of a longer-term agreement, ILWU Canada president Tom Dufresne said members are satisfied with the outcome.
“It wasn’t our first choice but the employer’s willing to pay for it,” he said.
The contract was recently ratified with the support of 67 per cent of members, more than a year after negotiations started.
Verdula said the protracted talks were damaging to the reputation of B.C. ports, and both sides eventually realized the urgency to find common ground. The Asia Pacific Gateway contributes more than $12 billion to Canada’s GDP annually and provides roughly 130,000 jobs.
“Both parties established a risk profile of not settling and what might happen if we didn’t,” he said. “It was in the best interests of our economic reputation.”
Verdula hopes with several years of stability in the future, the two parties can work with the federal government to devise a more successful collective bargaining model. Currently, strikes and lockouts are legal, but the federal government is quick to intervene in any work stoppage.
“So neither side can impose real economic sanctions on the other party,” he said. “The current bargaining structure is broken. It’s like waving imaginary guns. You get protracted bargaining and you get people not moving off of their positions.”
The BCMEA proposes the parties be allowed to bargain until they can’t reach agreement, with any outstanding issues being sent to binding arbitration.
It’s a process the ILWU is firmly against. Dufresne said this most recent contract is evidence that when left alone the parties can reach an agreement through collective bargaining.
“The current model works just fine,” he said. “It would take away people’s Charter rights otherwise.”
Dufresne said even the Canadian Industrial Relations Board appears to acknowledge that. In an earlier decision during negotiations, the CIRB ruled the ILWU could negotiate separately with individual employers, rather than with the BCMEA alone.
“Collective bargaining is alive and well,” he said. “The truth is we managed to negotiate without government assistance.”
Meanwhile, Dufresne hopes the addition of maternity benefits will make the occupation more attractive to women. There are only about 120 females among the 4,500 full-time and casual employees covered by the agreement.
The BCMEA filed a human rights complaint against ILWU in 2010 alleging the union was dragging its feet on the issue of harassment and discrimination against women employees.
Verdula said maternity benefits are “a piece of the puzzle” but not a solution to the issue.
“It’s not a huge benefit but if it can lead toward something more meaningful for women that’s good,” he said.
Dufresne accuses the BCMEA of “trying to gain leverage” on the issue of women in the workplace, and said the union is working on recruiting more women. The human rights complaint has yet to be heard.
