Truckers will meet with the province later this week in an attempt to avert more labour action at Port Metro Vancouver.
Representatives for both union and non-union truckers will meet with Transportation Minister Todd Stone Thursday afternoon in an attempt to resolve the ongoing dispute between drivers and the government.
In March, a month-long work stoppage at Port Metro Vancouver ports, including Deltaport, ended after the two sides came to an agreement.
More than 1,000 non-union truck drivers parked their rigs on Feb. 26. About 400 union drivers, represented by Unifor, joined them on March 10.
“Truckers went back to work based on an agreement signed off by the Premier and federal Minister Lisa Raitt’s office. If the government won’t uphold that deal, than we are not obligated to follow it either,” said Unifor national president Jerry Dias, who was a party to the signed agreement. “We are now demanding what the government promised less than a year ago.”
Drivers’ concerns at the time included low rates and wait times.
“It’s clear that the government doesn’t believe there is a collective agreement in place,” Dias said. “If the government re-confirms on Thursday that it will not adhere to the March 2014 settlement, then we will concur there is no collective agreement in place and we will finalize our plans to recommence strike action.”
