Seamus O'Regan’s Post

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Minister of Labour and Minister for Seniors | Ministre du Travail et Ministre des Aînés | Government of Canada | Gouvernement du Canada | he/him/il

Last night, the membership of the ILWU Canada voted to reject the tentative agreement with the BCMEA. While our BC ports are operating right now, we need long-term stability. My full statement:

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Gary Newbury, Supply Chain Performance Improvement

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9mo

I am puzzled as to why there are no sanctions on the body representing employers. The agreement ran out in March, as soon as the "deal" was unsettled by 1st April (yes, unfortunate date, for sure), there was going to be the risk of industrial action which materialised over the last 4-6 weeks causing significant disruption to industrial and consumer driven supply chains affecting the economy, our BoP and reputation. All of this should have been averted. Orders should be instituted that there should be more continuity in collective bargaining deals, rather than let them lapse and require governmental intervention to "save the day". The latter is not saving the day, rather, creating a source of long term frustration for workers and their union leaders.

Tracy Oost

Forensic Scientist and Continuity Officer - Specializing in Forensic Entomology, Forensic Osteology, Forensic Education

9mo

Shame on you Seamus. You were once a journalist. You acted as a voice to bring news to the people. You had a responsibility to be balanced. You seem to have forgotten all of that. These workers are frustrated with not being heard. While money is always an issue (cheese has gone up by another 10% at my grocery stores over the past two weeks - is there some cheese crisis I don't know about???), the fact that they want to talk directly to their employers is a clear sign that they want to be heard. It's not about the money at this point. Looking at the other comments, it's likely about automation and potential future job losses. The correct response is to go out there and listen to them (use your journalist skills), not impose a CA or binding arbitration. This can be solved without government interference; you/the employers just have to have the courage to listen rather than dictate.

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Elisa Reyes

mRNA, G&C, Bioprocessing solutions @ Roche CustomBiotech | MBA

9mo

It's not about wages, it's about bringing automation and potentially losing future jobs.

James (Jim) R.

Fire Lieutenant at Syncrude Canada Ltd -Retired

9mo

Automation has affected every industry and it will affect the port workers . As John Smythe , above said , finding a balance is key - it may take longer to achieve but will not affect current workers or those that have retired . Automation is going to happen , that is certain .

Rahul R

Building it Sleek 🙂🙏

9mo

Agree with you 💯 Seamus. Sustainability, Reliability , Durability, Faith 🙌🙂👍👏

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