ILWU Local 502 says second tentative deal reached in B.C.’s port strike
Posted July 20, 2023 10:47 pm.
The ongoing labour dispute at B.C.’s ports may be coming to an end.
The International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 502 says on its website that its bargaining committee has reached a tentative agreement with the BC Maritime Employers Association.
The union adds there will be a meeting held on Friday, to vote on whether the tentative deal will be sent to members for ratification.
About 7,400 workers at about 30 B.C. ports walked off the job on July 1. While they returned on July 13 after a tentative deal was reached, they went back on the picket lines on Tuesday after the union’s caucus voted the deal down. But on Wednesday, the federal labour minister called the renewed strike action illegal and there’s been confusion over where things stand, ever since.
Business groups have said the labour dispute has cost Canada’s economy billions of dollars.
