The warehouse at the Harmac Pacific pulp mill near Nanaimo has enough room to store pulp temporarily, but there’s still plenty of worry as port workers continue their strike, says Harmac president Levi Sampson.
Sampson said a “large percentage” of its pulp is normally loaded in containers onto ships at the mill’s deep-sea port to sail to China, Australia, Japan and Korea, where it is turned into a wide range of products.
While Harmac workers do not belong to the striking International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, members of the union are employed on the ships to load the cargo, said Sampson, noting the next cargo ship is expected at Harmac in about two weeks.
It might not arrive if the strike is still on, and could be delayed even if the strike is resolved, if other scheduled stops are disrupted by job action.
About 7,400 longshore union workers at abut 30 B.C. ports have been on strike since Saturday.
Key issues in the union’s dispute with the B.C. Maritime Employers Association include the impact of automation on the labour force, contracting out of equipment maintenance as ports globally become increasingly high-tech, and wages amid the rising cost of living, said Peter Hall, an urban studies professor at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby.
Hall said robots are used in some ports to transport and load cargo at the docks, displacing traditional workers.
Long-term solutions will be needed to address matters such as training programs, guarantees for existing workers, and how to implement technology in a way that works for all parties, Hall said.
If the strike continues it will disrupt the seasonal import of consumer goods for the December holiday season, which typically arrive in containers in August and September, Hall said.
“That really starts to pick up in August or September.”
On the export side, Hall said he is watching what happens with lumber and other forest products, and with products such as potash and sulphur in case they start to back up.
Other than some fish products, B.C. exports few perishable goods and there may be alternative ways to ship them, he said.
On Wednesday, the Grand Pioneer ship carrying a load of new vehicles destined for the Port of Nanaimo’s vehicle processing centre continued waiting in waters southwest of Port Renfrew. Pickets are up at the port, as well as in Port Alberni.
Vancouver Island companies selling products overseas are most vulnerable to the job action, which is not affecting the cruise-ship sector.
A B.C. Ferries official said it’s too early to tell if the strike is resulting in more commercial traffic on its vessels. Seaspan Ferries is not experiencing any meaningful increase in volume, said a company spokesperson, who added it has the capacity to take more cargo if needed.
Hall predicts it will likely be a while before the federal government steps in to help resolve the dispute. “They are clearly wanting to try and find a way to get the parties to come to an agreement.”
Both parties appeared deadlocked on Wednesday as some business organizations urged federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan to end the dispute.
In a letter to the prime minister, 120 business groups expressed “deep concern” about the job action, saying it would fuel inflation, raise costs and hurt the economy while hampering exports.
Business organizations fear the strike will back up shipments, deplete inventories and boost prices on goods in shorter supply.
