VANCOUVER — Container truck drivers say they will remain off the job at Port Metro Vancouver terminals unless they can meet with government officials to address issues they have with a 14-point proposal put forward by veteran labour mediator Vincce Ready aimed at getting them back to work.
Both the unionized drivers and their non-union counterparts said Saturday that they have asked for another meeting with government, and that there were many questions that needed to be answered before they ceased job action.
Manny Dosange, a spokesman for the United Truckers Association, which represents more than 1,200 non-union truck drivers, said there were several issues with the 14-point plan that “just didn’t fit” with members.
The 14-point plan was hammered out Wednesday night and presented to drivers on Thursday. The parties had a meeting late Friday afternoon to discuss the plan but Gavin McGarrigle, a spokesman for Unifor, the union representing about 400 drivers, said there were “glaring holes” in the document and they had serious questions about how the deal would work.
One of the proposals is to increase regulated per-trip rates by 10 per cent within one month and do an expedited review of the regulatory framework. But Dosange said that percentage is not high enough, though he declined to say how much more they wanted, saying he didn’t want to jeopardize any possible negotiations.
He also said the proposal to provide better access to terminals by implementing an extended hours pilot project was not acceptable, because there were concerns that it was not secure enough.
“What we are saying is we need a commitment for a 12-hour window and staggered breaks as far as service goes,” he said. “we’re just waiting for the provincial and federal government to agree to a meeting.”
In an email to The Sun on Saturday, Unifor spokesman Ian Boyko said drivers will stay off the job until “we get some questions answered by the government.” He said they were trying to get a meeting with the federal and provincial governments but were not having any luck.
Dosange said they need assurances that hours will be extended at the ports. “If they try this pilot project and then go back to what they were doing after only a couple of weeks then it puts everyone back in the same situation,” he said. “We need something firm from the terminal.”
Under the proposal, the province also commits to expanding the scope of its audits, which help enforce the per-trip payments to all companies licensed to haul containers from port terminals.
“It’s a vicious cycle and we want a long-term fix,” said Dosange. “We don’t ever want to be in this situation again and that’s why we’re saying to the government, ‘let’s fix this problem.’”
He said they had questions to be addressed on all 14 points, but there main concern was still waiting times at the port.
The proposal also calls for an expedited roll out of the GPS monitoring system on trucks used to measure waiting times and enforce time targets for getting trucks in and out of terminals. Truck drivers who wait longer than two hours would be paid a $25 late fee.
More than 1,200 non-union truck drivers parked their rigs on Feb. 26, with 400 Unifor-represented drivers joining them on March 10.
The dispute has brought trucking operations at Port Metro Vancouver’s four terminals to a near halt, along with some $885 million worth of trade.
