Containers will keep piling up at Vancouver-area ports after mediated contract
talks broke off between truckers and their employers on Tuesday. The Vancouver Container Truck Association blames the brokers for the failed negotiations. "The brokers failed to step up to the plate
... they refused to move beyond the existing inadequate rates," association spokesman Paul Uppal said in a release.
"The reality is that the brokers are focused (on) competing amongst themselves
at our expense." Uppal said the next step in ending the dispute is an industrial inquiry commission.
Although the port remains open and containers continue to move by rail, the daily flow of
container trucks moving roughly $30 million worth of goods every day has been on hold for more than a week after an estimated 1,000 truckers parked their rigs.
The drivers say they aren't being
compensated for the large increases in fuel costs.
Vince Ready, a veteran mediator, was appointed last week by the federal and provincial governments to help resolve the dispute.
The federal government
also said it would launch an inquiry under the Canada Labour Code to look into traffic issues at the port and recommend ways to resolve problems facing the truck drivers.
