More than 600 workers walked off the job Tuesday morning
Workers at six grain terminals at the Port of Vancouver walked off the job Tuesday morning.
More than 600 employees represented by the Grain Workers Union Local 333 (GWU) went on strike at 7:00 a.m. PT on Sept. 24 after failed negotiations between it and the Vancouver Terminal Elevators Association (VTEA), and the mandatory 72-hour strike notice.
The previous contract between the two sides expired in 2023.
Wages, lieu days and shift lengths are among the issues at the negotiating table.
The most recent proposal from the VTEA “was different from the last document your Bargaining Committee received and included items that were added, changed and deleted from their last proposal,” a Sept. 23 notice on the union’s Facebook page says.
The GWU is responsible for managing the eight grain terminals on the west coast of B.C.
This strike is affecting six of them – Alliance Grain Terminal, Cargill, Cascadia, G3, Pacific Elevators and Richardson.
Together, these terminals represent about 4 million metric tonnes of grain storage capacity.
For context, Canadian farmers produced 4.09 million metric tonnes of durum wheat in 2023, Stats Canada data shows.
And Canadian producers are concerned with this strike.
Terminal elevators at the Port of Vancouver received more than half of Canada’s grain in 2023.
And the Canadian Grain Commission estimates the work stoppage will stop nearly 100,000 metric tonnes of grain, and cost $35 million in exports per day.
The longer the strike goes on, the worse for Canadian ag.
“This is another gut punch for farmers,” Ian Boxall, president of Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, said in a Sept. 23 statement. “Our farmers are again caught in the crossfire of labour disputes far from their fields, facing the consequences of halted grain shipments. It’s high time for assertive government action to safeguard our supply chain integrity.”
“Grain farmers in the prairies rely heavily on the Port of Vancouver to handle and export the majority of the grain they grow,” Grain Growers of Canada said in a Sept. 24 statement. “Canada’s international trading reputation will continue to suffer, leading to the loss of key global markets and customers.
Grain Growers of Canada, as well as the Canola Council of Canada (CCC), are urging for federal intervention.
“Given current circumstances, the federal government must act swiftly to resolve this work stoppage to avoid additional harm to the Canadian canola industry,” the CCC said on Sept. 24.
Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon has his eye on the situation.
“I spoke with both GWU and the Vancouver Terminal Elevators’ Association yesterday,” he said on X Tuesday morning. At my request, both parties have agreed to resume negotiations alongside federal mediators. After a bumper crop summer, Canadian farmers and businesses need to get their harvest to market. Parties need to work hard to get a deal.”
Agriculture Minister Lawrence MacAulay also weighed in.
On X, the minister called the Port of Vancouver a “vital gateway” for Canadian ag, adding it’s “absolutely essential that parties reach a deal as soon as possible so our hardworking producers can get their goods to market.”