Update: Grain workers who were on strike in Vancouver are returning to work as early as Saturday (Sept. 28) morning after reaching a tentative four year deal on Friday evening. Read more here.
The timing couldn’t be worse for a port strike and the union representing grain workers in the six main grain terminals in Vancouver knows it.
In the world of labour relations, this is what’s known as leverage; the Grain Workers Union Local 333 has it and the union is attempting to use it to its full potential, as around 65o members walked off the job at 7 am on Tuesday, shutting down bulk grain movement through Western Canada’s largest export corridor.
Why is right now so critical? September, yes, is the beginning of the busy grain shipping season with harvest underway, but this particular September is even more crucial than usual for several reasons, says Wade Sobkowich, executive director of the Western Grain Elevator Association (WGEA), which represents the grain companies that also own port terminals that are affected by the strike.
“It’s devastating… We just had those conversations [about being a reliable supplier] with our customers about the rail strike, and now we’re having to have them again about a grain workers’ strike,” says Sobkowich.
Not only is the grain industry trying to catch up after the rail network shutdown less than a month ago, but there’s an added urgency to moving canola to China as soon as possible.
The Canadian government’s decision to place a 100 per cent tariff on electric vehicles from China, and the retaliatory canola anti-dumping investigation by China have raised the stakes, he says.
“That investigation is going to be completed at some point this fall. A decision by the Chinese government will be made, and it could result in a ban, or some sort of a tariff on canola into China. So as exporters, we’re trying to get as many canola vessels out and as early as possible so we can get them into China before any ban, if that’s what ends up happening, comes into effect,” explains Sobkowich.
He says WGEA feels the Canadian government “has a stake and some ownership in the situation we’re in.”
“This is a trade-off decision the federal government made. It made the decision to protect jobs in Eastern Canada at the cost of canola exports and returns to farmers in Western Canada. So from that perspective, we think the government has some responsibility to help us through this situation by whatever means it can,” he says.
Both Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon and Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay say they’re following the dispute and urging both sides to reach a deal as quickly as possible. As of Tuesday morning, MacKinnon said both sides had agreed to resume negotiations with assistance from federal mediators.
Watch/listen to the WGEA’s Wade Sobkowich discuss the timing of the port grain workers’ strike, what the union is seeking, and the impact on Canada’s reputation as a reliable supplier:
More coverage: Workers at Vancouver grain terminals poised to go on strike on Tuesday
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