Removing one long-standing thorn in the side of Vancouver port operations bodes well for the continued reliability of cargo movement through Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway. But implementing recommendations from the B.C. container trucking commissioner’s rate and remuneration report is only one in a many-layered West Coast goods movement pyramid.
Last week’s provincial government decision to enact most of the changes recommended by B.C.’s container trucking commissioner could go a long way to eliminating service disruptions within B.C.’s container trucking sector. But competition in that sector is notoriously cutthroat. Some elements within it are also not big on following regulatory policies. So implementing the commissioner’s recommendations is one thing; enforcing them is another.
Much of the conflict that sparked the 2014 container trucking work stoppage and interrupted cargo movement revolved around independent truckers’ pay rates and wait times at Port of Vancouver container terminals. Both threatened trucking companies’ commercial viability and truck driver livelihoods.
The commissioner’s recommendations address issues ranging from fuel surcharge formulas and driver pay rates to dangerous-goods movement.
Providing standards and certainties in these areas will help defuse tensions between drivers, employers and customers at the port.
However, continued Asia-Pacific Gateway labour peace still faces a far bigger uncertainty.
While talks between B.C. maritime employers and the province’s longshore unions have continued into 2019’s first quarter, there is still no sign that any agreement is on the near horizon to replace the landmark eight-year deal between the two sides, which expired over a year ago.
The longer B.C. goes without its replacement, the less certainty there is of maintaining long-term uninterrupted cargo movement through Canada’s Asia-Pacific Gateway and with it B.C. ports’ competitive edge and the continued growth of transpacific trade through the province’s West Coast.
