Agreement in principle reached during grain strike in Metro Vancouver, says federal minister
Canada’s labor minister says striking grain terminal workers in Metro Vancouver and their employers have reached a tentative agreement.
Steven MacKinnon announced the agreement between Grain Workers Union Local 333 and the Vancouver Terminal Elevators’ Association in a post on social media platform X, but provided no further details.
The union confirmed the agreement in principle in a statement on Facebookaffirming that its members will proceed to the ratification vote by October 4.
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The union’s notice also said picket lines were to be removed Saturday and members would return to work pending ratification, ending the strike that had crippled grain shipments from the Metro Vancouver port.
The conflict had already led to the lifting of picket lines at six grain terminals in Metro Vancouver on Tuesday, as around 600 workers went on strike.
Canadian grain producers have called for a resolution to the dispute, pointing out that about 52 percent of the country’s grain passed through Metro Vancouver terminals last year en route to export.
Farmers say the strike, which would take place during harvest, would result in a loss of exports of up to $35 million per day.
The Western Grain Elevator Association said Friday that negotiations had stalled after two days of negotiations this week, with the employer saying it had increased its offers to resolve “outstanding issues.”
The employers’ group had said they had reached the limit of their “financial capacity to reach a deal that the industry can absorb” with the latest offer, and that it was up to the federally appointed mediator to report on the findings. results to MacKinnon for the next steps.
MacKinnon said in his tweet that both sides have done “the work necessary to reach a deal.”
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