Canada's International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) on Sunday said that it is open for further negotiations after the government ordered an independent arbitrator to resolve the dispute.
The ILWU said it looks forward to resuming discussions and finding common ground "for the betterment of the Canadian supply chain and the livelihoods of its workforce."
Canada's labour minister on Saturday had directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) to determine whether a negotiated settlement or arbitration was still possible, after the dock workers union in western Canada rejected a contract.
Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan said the government was using its authority under section 107 of the Canada labour code to "preserve" industrial peace.
The CIRB will determine whether to impose a new collective agreement or impose a final binding arbitration to resolve outstanding terms of the collective agreement, the minister said in a statement. The minister said the ports in British Columbia are still operational.
Dock workers in western Canada have rejected a proposed labor contract that would have ended a dispute that has already affected trade and could have more economic repercussions by disrupting operations at the country's busiest ports.
The ILWU, representing about 7,500 dock workers, had been negotiating a new contract with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) for months.
"The membership of the ILWU Canada Longshore Division has said no to the terms of the settlement," the workers' union said in a statement early on Saturday and called on its direct employers to come to the table for negotiations.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith on Saturday asked elected officials and the union workers to immediately return to Ottawa to pass back-to-work legislation.
The BCMEA said it was disappointed that the ILWU rejected a tentative agreement that would have provided a compounded wage increase of 19.2% and increased retirement payouts in 2026 to C$96,250 ($72,625) for eligible retiring employees, over and above employees’ pension entitlements.
The proposed deal also provided a signing bonus of C$1.48 per hour worked to be paid to each employee - equivalent to about C$3,000 per full-time worker - and an 18.5% increase to a Modernization and Mechanization retirement lump sum payment, the BCMEA said.
The BCMEA also said it would await further direction from the federal government on the next steps and that the ILWU had not communicated its next steps and would retain the ability to provide 72-hour strike notices.
The leaders of the dock workers union in Canada's Pacific region had last week backed the tentative contract deal with employers.
Some 7,500 workers walked off their jobs for 13 days earlier this month over disagreements about issues including wage increases and expanding the union's jurisdiction to regular maintenance work on terminals.
The strike has upended operations at two of Canada's three busiest ports, the Port of Vancouver and the Port of Prince Rupert, which are key gateways for exporting natural resources and commodities and bringing in raw materials.
Economists warned that the strike could trigger more supply-chain disruptions and fuel inflation while the Bank of Canada tries to cool the economy.
The world's biggest fertilizer producer, Nutrien (NTR.TO), has already reported an impact on business, while more than half of small Canadian business owners said in a survey their operations were expected to be affected.
"Enough is enough," Perrin Beatty, head of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce lobby group said in a statement, saying the country cannot face further disruption.
"To get our ports working again, we need to get Parliament back to work."
($1 = 1.3253 Canadian dollars)
