B.C.'s Liberal government has followed through with its promise to table back-to-work legislation for unionized truckers on strike at Port Metro Vancouver, with heavy penalties for not complying.
Labour Minister Shirley Bond says the legislation calls for a 90-day cooling off period and applies only to the 250 unionized truckers who serve at Canada's largest port.
The legislation includes penalties of up to $400 per day for workers and $10,000 per day for the union or employer for contravening the legislation.
Bond says the province has secured the services of veteran labour mediator Vince Ready to help negotiate a settlement, but she says talks will only start once the members of the Unifor union return to work.
Union officials have said they don't know how their members will react to the back-to-work legislation.
The strike also involves more than 1,000 non-union truckers, who are demanding shorter wait times at the port and standardized rates of pay across the sector to prevent undercutting.
Port Metro Vancouver has also warned that any unionized or non-unionized drivers who are not on the job won't be able to get their licences renewed.
