Keeping Workers and Society Safe and Defending Workers' Rights
- Rob Ashton -
BC longshore workers stand in solidarity with striking Montreal Dock workers,
April 27, 2021.
Rob Ashton is the President of The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada
We've been fairly successful in keeping COVID-19 off the waterfront.
In the longshore industry we've been able to, from March to March, keep
it to about 140 positive or presumptive cases out of 7,000 people. We
have really good protocols in place on the waterfront that we've
developed over the last year, most developed jointly, some by
the union locals. Each local has their own protocols with the
employers. If we do have a bit of an uptick, if someone tests positive,
it gets squashed quickly because of the policies we have in place. We
changed the way we do dispatch in a couple of the locals until the
pandemic is over because we can't all come into one place for dispatch
now so
some locals went to an automated or phone dispatch. Everybody does the
check-in at the start of the shift. There are cleaning crews at most
sites, almost every shift, depending on the terminal.
Now with the vaccines, the provincial government is vaccinating in
different workplaces, and they have forgotten about our people who work
on the docks, bring the ships in, dispatch the ships' pilots, work in
the grain terminals, everybody that's associated with the
transportation industry. When we are in bargaining and there could be a
strike
or lockout, the government gets upset that there will be a half a
billion dollar loss every day and its "oh my god, the shutdown, we
can't let them do it," but when it comes to vaccinations and the
possibility of shutdowns due to COVID-19 they have forgotten us. In the
longshore industry if 15 people who do key jobs in the industry go down
with
COVID-19 an entire terminal could be shut down. We drafted a few
letters and co-authored a few letters with the Port of Vancouver and
our employers, so far with no response from government. This is causing
a lot of stress to our people. Every day you're living with a ticking
time bomb. Everybody in our industry knows the ramifications of an
outbreak, something those in power that administer the vaccines, don't
understand. Every worker who wants the vaccine should get it, grocery
store workers, emergency services people, health care workers, and all
the people who keep the economy going, in the transportation industry,
bus drivers, taxi drivers.
 About
the situation in Montreal: what the workers there are fighting for is a
better work/life balance. Right now a longshore worker in Montreal is
forced to work 17 to 19 days in a row without the right to take any
time off. Imagine what this does to a family. Workers don't see their
families for days on end and can't go to medical appointments.
If they don't work they can be disciplined. What the employer is saying
is that they have no right to complain because they are making good
money. That's fine and dandy but they want a life too. They're fighting
for what unions have fought for forever -- eight hours of work, eight
hours of play and eight hours of rest. They started picketing on
the weekends because the employers kept messing with their schedules
and disciplining workers. If the Maritime Employers Association (MEA)
had just agreed to negotiate last year none of this would have
happened. They have to defend themselves and the only way to do that in
contract talks is to withdraw their labour, which is a protected
Charter right. Now the employer doesn't have to do anything, can just
sit back while the government steps in and imposes a contract. The
first year they were in bargaining they were at the federal labour
board, the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) because the
employer was saying that they didn't have a right to strike because
they were
essential to keeping everything going, and the board ruled that they
are not essential, the employer was wrong. That took a year. And there
was no bargaining in that time so now we have this happening where the
employer is still not bargaining, they're actually stoking the flames
by adjusting work rules which is forcing the union to react. Now
the government for all intents and purposes are neutering the union
with this legislation. There are very close ties between the Liberal
government and the MEA.
The employer's lawyer in that CIRB hearing was Nicola di Iorio,
former Liberal MP for Saint-Léonard--Saint-Michel in
Quebec from October 2015 to January 2019. He was working as an advisor
to the MEA in 2018 when they were trying to
deny the workers' right to strike.
The MEA is doing the same thing as some BC hotels, taking advantage
of the pandemic situation to mistreat the workers. They are definitely
taking advantage of the situation and so is the Canadian government.
Right now the federal government is by trying to bring in new security
regulations. The government recently told us they are
possibly looking to change the regulations that they have on security
background checks that they put some of our workers through, the ones
who work with cruise ships and certain jobs in container terminals. Now
they want every worker that works in marine cargo handling facilities
to have extensive background checks done and we are asking
them why. There is no evidence that we've been made aware of that
longshore workers are a security risk. They are treating us like
criminals. At a recent meeting I asked the government "Are you doing
this at this time because we allegedly can't hit the streets because of
the pandemic? Are you trying to steal our voice from us? You haven't
done
this in the last 20 years and you picked this year to do it? It's
awfully convenient that we can't hit the streets and shut down cities
or fly across the country to talk to MPs." They just shrugged their
shoulders. This is another battle we have to fight. 
ILWU
marks Day of Mourning in Vancouver, April 28, 2021. ILWU pointed out on
this occasion that now more than ever before, the voice of workers must
be listened to and acted upon to ensure safety at work.
This article was published in
Voluem [volume] Number [issue] - May 4, 2021 - No. 40
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08402.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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