Picket lines go up as strike begins at six grain terminals in Metro Vancouver

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VANCOUVER — Picket lines have gone up at six grain terminals in Metro Vancouver as about 600 workers begin a strike.

Canada’s labour minister, meanwhile, says he spoke with both the employer and representatives of Grain Workers Union Local 333 on Monday, and they have agreed to resume contract negotiations alongside federal mediators.

Steven MacKinnon posted the message on the social media platform X, saying Canadian farmers had a “bumper crop” and they need to get it to market.

Union president Douglas Lea-Smith says the Vancouver Terminal Elevators Association hasn’t “meaningfully engaged” over a dozen days of bargaining ahead of further talks with help from the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service.

The union has said it provided the employer with a “comprehensive package” last Thursday, but the next day, the association indicated it had no counter offer.

A statement issued by the Shipping Federation of Canada says the union and the association concluded conciliation with help from the federal service on Aug. 26, but could not come to an agreement on a new contract.

The affected operations include Viterra’s Cascadia and Pacific Terminals, Richardson International Terminal, Cargill Limited Terminal, G3 Terminal Vancouver and Alliance Grain Terminal, all located in Vancouver and North Vancouver.

Lea-Smith said the major sticking point in the negotiations relates to time in lieu.

“There are some minor monetary issues, but for the most part, it’s largely over earned time-off days, which we call lieu days,” he said.

The lieu days stretch back to binding arbitration in 2002, when the workers moved to an round-the-clock operation, Lea-Smith said.

“Grain workers in 2002, on a pro rata basis, compared to today, earned more money than we do,” he said.

It’s the first time the union local has gone on strike since about 1970, he said.