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Hundreds of small businesses already hurting from strike may be further hit
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Sean Stephan, who runs a small landscaping business in Regina, breathed a sigh of relief last week when he heard the strike at the ports of British Columbia, which have potentially disrupted billions of dollars’ worth of cargo since July 1, had ended.
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The owner of The Rusty Shovel Landscape Shop thought the strike’s end would mean he’d finally receive the artificial grass carpets on which the company depends for nearly a quarter of its revenue. The product, sold to homeowners with smaller yards, is made overseas and the two-week long strike had depleted stock during the only season the carpets are installed.
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On July 18, when Stephan heard that thousands of dockworkers had gone back on strike barely five days after they appeared to reach an agreement with their employers, he was frustrated.
“I don’t know what to tell my customers,” he said. “We are back to the uncertainty. It’s very frustrating to deal with something outside of your control and that there’s no certainty on when we are getting things back.”
That was before the Canada Industrial Relations Board ruled the resumption of the strike illegal because the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represents roughly 7,400 workers, didn’t provide 72 hours’ notice, Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said in a tweet on July 19. But the union has since formally reissued notice, according to reports, meaning it will be in position to strike legally again on Saturday.
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The ILWU ruling came too late for Stephan, who was forced to refund an order worth $6,000 on July 19 because of a lack of supply. He worries more cancellations may come in, as the company doesn’t have the capacity to store a year’s worth of supply and staggers its imports. His concern is that customers could go to bigger companies with more carpets in stock.
Hundreds of small businesses such as Stephan’s have been impacted by the strike. More than half of 1,400 small Canadian business owners were feeling impacts from the strike, according to an ongoing survey being conducted by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, the country’s largest association for small businesses. Manufacturing, retail and wholesale sectors have been hardest hit.
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Despite agreeing to a tentative deal proposed by federal mediators last week, the ILWU, on July 18 said in a statement that its caucus leadership had voted down the recommended terms of settlement and that workers would be “back on the picket line” for a new agreement.
The union said the employers did not address cost-of-living issues despite making “record profits” and added the four-year term of the agreement was “far too long” for today’s “uncertain times.” The group didn’t clarify why it had initially agreed to a tentative deal.
The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), which represents 49 of B.C.’s private-sector waterfront employers, and handles at least 16 per cent of Canada’s total traded goods annually, said the union had “little regard” for the lives and jobs the strike has impacted.
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“The proposed four-year collective agreement settlement package … included considerable hikes in wages and benefits over and above the 10 per cent increase received over the past three years,” BCMEA said in a statement. “The tentative settlement also included specific provisions that addressed the union’s concern regarding “contracting out.”
It added that the BCMEA agreed to provide benefit coverage for all casual trades workers, a tool allowance, and a commitment to increase apprentices in the industry by 15 per cent.
In a joint statement on July 19, ministers of labour and transport, O’Regan and Omar Alghabra, said workers and employers across Canada “cannot face further disruption” and the government was looking at “all options” to end the strike. They also said the initial deal was fair and balanced.
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“Despite initially agreeing to recommend the terms of settlement, the ILWU Canada’s leadership had decided not to recommend ratification of the terms to their members,” the statement said. “We have been patient. We have respected the collective bargaining process. But we need our ports operating.”
For its part, the ILWU said in a press release later on July 19 that it suspended the picketing last week at the request of the labour minister while the union considered the terms of the collective agreement suggested by the mediator and that technically it has been in a legal strike position since July 1.
“As required by our constitution, the ILWU contract caucus considered the tentative contract in a two-day meeting. The caucus was not satisfied the mediator’s deal met the membership’s goals and directed the bargaining committee to seek a negotiated agreement,” the union’s president Rob Ashton said in a statement.
He added that the ILWU followed the Canadian labour law which states that a strike continues until the ratification of a collective agreement, but that the CIRB did not. He said that the ILWU will appeal the CIRB’s decision, but will respect the ruling and reissue the notice of a strike.
B.C. ports strike ends after sides reach tentative agreement
B.C. ports strike hurting hundreds of small businesses
Strike disrupts $4.6-billion worth of cargo at B.C. ports
All the back and forth over the status of the strike has made things difficult for small business owners, such as Stephan.
“There are just too many unknowns (factors),” he said. “I am a little scared to look at my backlog (orders).”
• Email: nkarim@postmedia.com | Twitter: naimonthefield
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