Activity ramps up at DP World Fairview facility as BC Port strike ends

Operations will soon be back at full speed at a number of terminals along the Prince Rupert waterfront with members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union returning to their work sites with last nights shift.

With workers back on the docks, the DP World Fairview Container Port received its first vessel call since the start of the thirteen day strike on Canada Day; that with the early morning arrival for the Bohai Sea, which currently sits at the DP World North Dock awaiting unloading and loading.

Containers stand ready for unloading from the CSCL Bohai Sea at 
DP World Fairview. The Pending schedule shows that things will
be ramping up quickly at the Container Terminal over the next week

The list of ships to come indicates the volume of work ahead for the port workers following the acceptance of the tentative deal on Thursday morning.

The Prince Rupert Port Authority vessels pending list

 With the resumption of work at DP World, CN Rail will once again be shuttling container cars between their yard and the DP World facility with some preparation work in place on the Prince Rupert waterfront lines this morning.

CN Rail operations out of the port had been reduced significantly during the
course of the thirteen day labour disruption at the port

Yesterday was a day for congratulatory messages from political and port officials and in Prince Rupert that brought statements from the Prince Rupert Port Authority and from MP Taylor Bachrach who is also the NDP"s Transportation critic.

click to enlarge

click to enlarge

The ILWU has over 1,000 members on its rolls in Prince Rupert, another 6,000 work in the Vancouver Port operations with a number of other workers employed in other coastal communities or on Vancouver Island.

So far no details have been released towards the terms of the labour deal, which has been reported to be four years in length, though Federal officials noted with the settlement that for the future, there is a need to find solutions well before labour disruptions take place.

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan and Transport Minister Omar Alghabra noted of the disruption to trade that resulted from the labour dispute in a joint statement from Thursday.

The scale of this disruption has been significant. The extent of it has shown just how important the relationship between industry and labour is to our national interest. Our supply chains and our economy depend on it. We do not want to be back here again. 

Deals like this, made between parties at the collective bargaining table, are the best way to prevent that. They are the best way to preserve the long-term stability of Canada's economy. But we do not want to be back here again.

 

More notes on the Port Strike of July can be reviewed from our archive page.