Canada dockworkers ordered to end strike

A renewed strike by the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada has been declared illegal following a ruling by the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).

Canada’s labour minister, Seamus O’Regan, said in a tweet the labour watchdog ordered that the union cease and desist any strike activity because it did not provide 72-hour notice.

The strike that has shut down British Columbia’s ports resumed Tuesday after the union representing over 7,000 dockworkers rejected a tentative four-year deal agreed with employers last week.

The board, which is an independent body, ordered that any member of the union who is participating in strike activity “immediately perform the duties of their employment as per the collective agreement and applicable dispatch rules”.

The industrial action is estimated to have frozen billions of dollars worth of cargo from moving in and out of ports, including at Canada’s busiest, Vancouver.

“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,” noted Corinne Pohlmann, executive vice president at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, adding: “To let it carry on any further is negligent and will amplify disruptions of the supply chain.”

In a joint statement, O’Regan and Canada’s transport minister, Omar Alghabra, previously said that workers and employers across Canada cannot face further disruption and that they were looking at all options.

“We have been patient. We have respected the collective bargaining process. But we need our ports operating,” a joint statement said.

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has called on the country’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to end the strike immediately because of the massive cost to workers, consumers and businesses.

“We’re calling on him to deliver a plan to end this strike within the next 24 hours,” Poilievre said.