Labour

Striking International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada workers picket at a port entrance in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, July 4, 2023. The strike at more than 30 British Columbia ports entered its fourth day on Tuesday after 7,400 port workers walked off the job on the weekend. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Exporters want law to limit future disruptions as B.C. port strike continues

Group wants ports and rail lines designated as essential infrastructure

Striking International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada workers picket at a port entrance in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, July 4, 2023. The strike at more than 30 British Columbia ports entered its fourth day on Tuesday after 7,400 port workers walked off the job on the weekend. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
An International Longshore and Warehouse Union worker pickets outside of the BC Maritime Employers Association Dispatch Centre after a 72-hour strike notice and no agreement made on the bargaining table in Vancouver, on Saturday, July 1, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns

Further negotiations won’t end B.C. port workers strike, employers say

Strike affecting B.C. ports now into its 4th day as talks stall

An International Longshore and Warehouse Union worker pickets outside of the BC Maritime Employers Association Dispatch Centre after a 72-hour strike notice and no agreement made on the bargaining table in Vancouver, on Saturday, July 1, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ethan Cairns
A truck carries a cargo container at the Port of Vancouver Centerm container terminal as others are stacked under gantry cranes, in Vancouver, on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says it is “deeply disturbed” by the strike notice the union for British Columbia’s port workers’ made that said its members were prepared to walk out on Saturday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Canadian Chamber of Commerce wants port strike averted, cites economy

Longshoremen prepared to walk out on Saturday

A truck carries a cargo container at the Port of Vancouver Centerm container terminal as others are stacked under gantry cranes, in Vancouver, on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce says it is “deeply disturbed” by the strike notice the union for British Columbia’s port workers’ made that said its members were prepared to walk out on Saturday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A seaplane prepares to land on the harbour as gantry cranes used to load and unload cargo containers are seen at port, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. The union representing port workers in British Columbia says it has issued 72-hour strike notice, saying they are ready to walk off the job on Saturday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. port union issues 72-hour strike notice affecting 7,400 workers

Union members voted 99.24 per cent in favour of strike action earlier this month

A seaplane prepares to land on the harbour as gantry cranes used to load and unload cargo containers are seen at port, in Vancouver, on Tuesday, April 25, 2023. The union representing port workers in British Columbia says it has issued 72-hour strike notice, saying they are ready to walk off the job on Saturday. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
An open letter from labour exports led by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, BC Office calls on the provincial government to better regulate platform-based companies like Uber, which recently gained permission to operate in Kelowna and Victoria. (Black Press Media file photo)

Labour advocates not digging the state of gig work in B.C.

Open letter led by Canadian Centre for Policy Alternative calls on government to reform system

An open letter from labour exports led by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, BC Office calls on the provincial government to better regulate platform-based companies like Uber, which recently gained permission to operate in Kelowna and Victoria. (Black Press Media file photo)
A sign outside the Canada Revenue Agency is seen Monday May 10, 2021 in Ottawa. Canada’s largest federal public-sector union says more than 155,000 workers have ratified new four-year deals with the federal government. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld

Federal workers vote ‘overwhelmingly’ in favour of agreements that ended strike: PSAC

12-day strike had shut down a range of government services

A sign outside the Canada Revenue Agency is seen Monday May 10, 2021 in Ottawa. Canada’s largest federal public-sector union says more than 155,000 workers have ratified new four-year deals with the federal government. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
The Port of Prince Rupert is just one of two in Canada to provide shore power to container vessels at berth reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the local environment. (Photo: supplied)

B.C. port cargo loaders approve strike, but talks continue with maritime employers

Strike action could begin as soon as June 24 if negotiations do not progress

The Port of Prince Rupert is just one of two in Canada to provide shore power to container vessels at berth reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the local environment. (Photo: supplied)
A new report is casting doubt on the idea that Canada is facing a widespread labour shortage, bolstering arguments by labour economists who say the country has more than enough workers. A sign for help wanted is pictured in a business window in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

StatCan report casts clouds on claims of a widespread labour shortage in Canada

An analysis finds there are no labour shortages for jobs that require high levels of education

A new report is casting doubt on the idea that Canada is facing a widespread labour shortage, bolstering arguments by labour economists who say the country has more than enough workers. A sign for help wanted is pictured in a business window in Ottawa on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick
A line at the WestJet counter at the airport in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, May 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

WestJet continues ramping back up after cancelled flights upend long weekend plans

Airline warns full resumption will take time, travellers should check before heading to airport

A line at the WestJet counter at the airport in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, May 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
WestJet has started to cancel flights as talks with the pilots’ union remained at a “critical impasse,” the company said in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, May 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

WestJet, pilots reach 11th-hour deal as strike averted

Some 1,800 pilots at WestJet and Swoop had been poised to walk off the job

WestJet has started to cancel flights as talks with the pilots’ union remained at a “critical impasse,” the company said in Calgary, Alta., Thursday, May 18, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Members of the Air Line Pilots Association demonstrate amid contract negotiations outside the WestJet headquarters in Calgary, Alta., Friday, March 31, 2023. Talks between WestJet and the pilots’ union continue as the clock counts down toward a Friday strike deadline. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

WestJet cancels 100-plus flights as pilot strike looms, negotiations in stalemate

Airline issued statement early Thursday saying negotiations were stuck ‘in a stalemate’

Members of the Air Line Pilots Association demonstrate amid contract negotiations outside the WestJet headquarters in Calgary, Alta., Friday, March 31, 2023. Talks between WestJet and the pilots’ union continue as the clock counts down toward a Friday strike deadline. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
WestJet Airlines pilots stand on a picket line at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on Monday May 8, 2023. WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech says a massive gap remains between the airline’s offer to pilots and the union’s counterproposal for a new contract as job action looms. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

WestJet CEO, pilots’ union head clash over compensation as strike looms

More than 1,800 pilots at WestJet and its Swoop subsidiary could walk off the job Friday

WestJet Airlines pilots stand on a picket line at Toronto’s Pearson Airport on Monday May 8, 2023. WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech says a massive gap remains between the airline’s offer to pilots and the union’s counterproposal for a new contract as job action looms. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Members of the Air Line Pilots Association demonstrate amid contract negotiations outside the WestJet headquarters in Calgary, Alta., Friday, March 31, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Union says WestJet pilots issue 72-hour strike notice, plan job action Friday

Union represents some 1,600 flight crew at WestJet and subsidiary Swoop

Members of the Air Line Pilots Association demonstrate amid contract negotiations outside the WestJet headquarters in Calgary, Alta., Friday, March 31, 2023.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
Late night talk show host Seth Meyers, right, joins striking members of the Writers Guild of America on the picket line during a rally outside Silvercup Studios, Tuesday May 9, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

Writers strike felt in missing NBC stars, absence of Fox schedule for TV sales pitches

‘No one has a crystal ball about the duration and impact of the strike’

Late night talk show host Seth Meyers, right, joins striking members of the Writers Guild of America on the picket line during a rally outside Silvercup Studios, Tuesday May 9, 2023, in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
B.C. Finance Minister Katrine Conroy says Bill 5 gives government lawyers what they want, which is to join a union. But the BC Government Lawyers Association say they do not want join the Professional Employees Association. Conroy addresses Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce members on March 24, 2023. (Trevor Crawley photo.)

B.C. government lawyers protest bill that would prevent forming a new union

Province says ‘incredible number of unions’ can become a difficult situation for the employer

B.C. Finance Minister Katrine Conroy says Bill 5 gives government lawyers what they want, which is to join a union. But the BC Government Lawyers Association say they do not want join the Professional Employees Association. Conroy addresses Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce members on March 24, 2023. (Trevor Crawley photo.)
Aman Sood, a 40-year-old immigrant originally from India who came to Canada in 2019, suffered injuries during an attack from a fare while driving for Uber in Abbotsford last month. He and Sussanne Skidmore, BC Federation of Labour president, met with the media before meeting Minister of Labour Harry Bains to discuss the safety of workers for app-based companies like Uber. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)

Attack on Uber driver prompts call for better protection of gig workers

BC Federation of Labour president wants expansion of workers compensation coverage

Aman Sood, a 40-year-old immigrant originally from India who came to Canada in 2019, suffered injuries during an attack from a fare while driving for Uber in Abbotsford last month. He and Sussanne Skidmore, BC Federation of Labour president, met with the media before meeting Minister of Labour Harry Bains to discuss the safety of workers for app-based companies like Uber. (Wolf Depner/News Staff)
FILE - A worker wheels equipment past the famous Hollywood sign as preparations continue on March 8, 2023, for the 95th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Television and movie writers declared late Monday, May 1, that they will launch an industrywide strike for the first time in 15 years, as Hollywood girded for a walkout with potentially widespread ramifications in a fight over fair pay in the streaming era. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)

Hollywood writers begin strike, late-night shows go dark

Dispute tied to streaming could affect TV and film productions depending on how long it lasts

FILE - A worker wheels equipment past the famous Hollywood sign as preparations continue on March 8, 2023, for the 95th Academy Awards at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles. Television and movie writers declared late Monday, May 1, that they will launch an industrywide strike for the first time in 15 years, as Hollywood girded for a walkout with potentially widespread ramifications in a fight over fair pay in the streaming era. (AP Photo/J. David Ake, File)
Public Service Alliance of Canada members who are employees at the Canadian Grain Commission picket outside the Viterra Cascadia Terminal, in Vancouver, on Monday, April 24, 2023. The grain terminal handles wheat, durum, canola, barley, rye, oats and by-products that arrive by rail and are loaded on bulk carrier ships for export. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Treasury Board sends open letter to Canadians on talks with union amid ongoing strike

More than 100,000 of the union’s members walked off the job Wednesday

Public Service Alliance of Canada members who are employees at the Canadian Grain Commission picket outside the Viterra Cascadia Terminal, in Vancouver, on Monday, April 24, 2023. The grain terminal handles wheat, durum, canola, barley, rye, oats and by-products that arrive by rail and are loaded on bulk carrier ships for export. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
A recent Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found 1 in 10 B.C. workers were working jobs that were explicitly short-term or casual, and 17 per cent said their income could vary significantly week to week. (pixabay photo)

In B.C., precarious work is becoming the new normal: study

Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives looks at jobs without uncertain pay, hours or protection

  • Apr 24, 2023
A recent Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives found 1 in 10 B.C. workers were working jobs that were explicitly short-term or casual, and 17 per cent said their income could vary significantly week to week. (pixabay photo)
PSAC workers and supporters picket in front of President of the Treasury Board Mona Fortier’s office in Ottawa on Friday, April 21, 2023. One of Canada’s largest labour disruptions has entered a sixth day, as the union representing thousands of striking public-service workers looks to delay access to ports. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Public service union to picket at locations with more impact as strike enters Day 6

Sides exchanged offers during the weekend

PSAC workers and supporters picket in front of President of the Treasury Board Mona Fortier’s office in Ottawa on Friday, April 21, 2023. One of Canada’s largest labour disruptions has entered a sixth day, as the union representing thousands of striking public-service workers looks to delay access to ports. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick