Officials' Response to Port Workers' Strike
Prince Rupert, July 3,
2023
The response from government and elected party officials has been to reiterate the view of the employer and business groups that the strike will cause great harm to the economy and supply chain for traded goods. They appear united in destroying through the mass media any public opinion of Canadians in support of the port workers' rights and just cause. Government officials and big business leaders are intent on laying the groundwork to use police powers to end the strike without reaching an agreement suitable to the port workers.
No official within the federal government of the ruling Liberal/NDP coalition or BC NDP provincial ruling party spoke in support of the port workers in their struggle with their employers. No official from any party in Parliament or BC Legislature detailed the demands and concerns of the union members who are dealing with a deterioration of their working conditions, price inflation and demands for concessions rather than improvements. No elected member from any party made it their duty to outline the context of the struggle, which includes the demands of the employer for concessions that would undermine the job security of workers, weaken their union and damage the lives of port workers.
The federal office of Employment and Social Development Canada issued a statement on behalf of Seamus O'Regan, Minister of Labour, and Omar Alghabra, Minister of Transport whose emphasis was the urgency of not disrupting supply chains. According to the logic of their argument, a strike disrupts the supply chains and so it should be ended, preferably through negotiations, but they have nothing to say about the disregard for the workers who keep the goods and services flowing through the ports and transportation systems. They say:
[...]
We support the collective bargaining process because the best deals are made at the bargaining table. That is our focus here.
We strongly encourage the parties to get back to the bargaining table and work together to reach an agreement. That is what matters most right now.
Everyone -- the employer, the union, the mediators, and the government -- understands the urgency and what is at stake for Canadians and our supply chains. The parties are responsible for moving goods both nationally and internationally, and industries and consumers would feel the effects of a work stoppage.
Senior mediators from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service are meeting with the parties and will keep supporting negotiations until an agreement is reached.
For his part, NDP Premier of BC David Eby refused to give an opinion on the workers' demands and their struggle against concessions. Instead he reiterated the federal government and big business concern for the damage a strike would cause the economy and supply chain.
The issue is not whether a strike causes damage to the economy or not. Obviously a disruption of work-time reduces the production of new value. The issue is not only the current relations of production leave workers with little choice but to defend themselves by withdrawing their labour power from time to time but also the anti-social offensive which seeks to take away protections against contracting out in the name of the security of the supply chain, both of which are unacceptable. Employers cannot be permitted to unilaterally control with dictatorial power the material means of production. The problem of outmoded relations of production must be resolved in favour of the workers so that the decisions which affect their wages and working conditions do not bring them and the society harm. The employers' demand for concessions and their refusal to negotiate and instead dictate cause harm to both the workers and society, no matter what self-serving arguments are provided by governments, cartel party spokespersons and the monopoly-owned media.
Speaking at a news conference BC Premier Eby said he is "profoundly worried about the potential impact of a strike at our ports." Similar to big business he raised the biased anti-worker assertion that the demands and actions of the working class are causes of price inflation and "disruptive to the supply chain."
Premier Eby's words bemoaning the damage to the economy and his government's lack of support for the port workers seek to isolate the workers and activate public opinion against the strike and the just demands of the port workers but the support the workers have already received from port, maritime and transportation workers around the world shows where the cause of justice lies. Should the federal government use its police powers to end the strike in favour of the employers, it will not go well for the future of the supply chains. Organized labour is the most stable there is anywhere in the world. To turn it into disorganized labour with poor working conditions, poor safety standards and poor pay is not good for the stability of supply chains. Opportunism to make a quick buck is not good for the stability of the economy and supply chains.
Defend the striking port workers! What is good for them is good for the rest of us.
Uphold the Dignity of Labour!
Vancouver, July 3, 2023
Neptune
Terminals, (left), Delta Port water picket
Dispatch office, July 3, 2023
(Photos: ILWU Canada)
This article was published in
Number 35 - July 5, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10354.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca