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Port Metro container truckers sign new contracts, pickets still planned

Port truckers take to picket line to pressure holdout employers

Close to 300 unionized container truck drivers in Metro Vancouver have signed new collective agreements with six companies says Unifor while 110 remain working without a current deal.

"We've managed to tweak some of the key rates that were out there, get some benefit contributions going forward for both owner-operators and employees, and really bring some fairness back to the working conditions of the drivers," said Gavin McGarrigle Unifor's B.C. area director.

The six new collective agreements include companies AG, Aheer, Forward, Prudential and Sunlover and come after more than a year of negotiations.

In a release, Unifor says the new collective agreements won't expire until July of 2019, "a major step towards stability at Port Metro Vancouver."

Unifor says the agreements include the following:

- Outstanding retro pay to be paid to drivers within 30 days.

- improved and fixed rates

- job security protections

- better dispatching language

- company contributions to benefit plans for owner-operators and company drivers

Up to 110 drivers are still without a new collective agreement, the one they were working under expired in 2014.

Unifor says two companies, Port Transport and Harbour Link "remain unwilling to bargain deals" and some workers have been on strike for a week in protest.

Drivers plan to picket at Harbour Link's main yard at 7420 Hopcott Road in Delta on Monday morning.

In 2014, container shipping at Port Metro's four terminals had been cut by about 90 per cent after 250 unionized truckers went on strike March 10, joining 1,000 non-unionized truckers who walked off the job in February.

The dispute left hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cargo stranded at Vancouver-area container terminals and both B.C. Premier Christy Clark and then prime minister Stephen Harper warned the dispute was jeopardizing the economy.