There are financial aid opportunities for drivers displaced by Port Metro Vancouver's new truck licensing system, the port authority said this week.
Many drivers expressed concern and anger last week over the number of truckers now out of work due to the new licensing regulations at the port.
The new system came out of the month-long work stoppage last year that saw more than 1,000 non-union and about 400 union drivers park their rigs to protest low rates and long wait times at Lower Mainland ports, including Deltaport at Roberts Bank. The protest left billions of dollars worth of container cargo piled up at the docks.
Port Metro Vancouver initiated the new licensing system with the intent of reducing the number of trucks accessing its container terminals by about 500, to 1,500 from the 2,000 that were previously licensed.
"This was necessary because there were previously too many trucks for the amount of available work," said Peter Xotta, PMV vice-president of planning and operations. "This change was requested by drivers, trucking companies and others during extensive consultation done in the fall because drivers stated they could not get enough work to make a decent living."
PMV said this week that a transition program has been put in place.
"Some drivers may be eligible for up to $15,000, depending on how much work they have done at the port in the past seven months and provided they are not participating in disruptive activities that have an adverse effect on the port, its tenants or its neighbours," Xotta said.
However, drivers were crying foul last week as the new system was rolled out.
Unifor spokesperson Gavin McGarrigle said the port was using intimidation tactics to scare off drivers from protesting what the union believes is an unfair compensation.
"We were not consulted on that amount, it was just dictated to from on high," he said. "Our members are very upset. They feel the joint plan hasn't been lived up to. It's heartbreaking to watch all these truck drivers be pushed out of the system in a way that's not transparent and that's unfair."
Unifor agreed with the plan to reduce the number of drivers, but McGarrigle said it wanted a "last in, first out," method of deciding which drivers would not get licenses.
"But they just ignored all that. We wanted people out of the system that had only been there for a year or two but the way they've done it, you can have people that have worked for 15 or 20 years, so obviously compensation for someone with 20 years in the system should be a lot different than someone with two years."
The union is also unhappy with the B.C. government's new container trucking commissioner.
McGarrigle said the fact that newly appointed Andy Smith is the chief executive officer for the B.C. Maritime Employers Association creates a bias because Smith speaks for terminal operators who pay for waiting times.
"We just don't understand how you can wear both hats at the same time," he said. "It wouldn't surprise me if this thing flares up again. We'll see what happens but this certainly is not a step toward civility."
Smith has been tasked with ensuring long-term stability at the port following last year's work stoppage.
-with files from The Vancouver Sun
