Longshoremen with the ILWU strike at Canada’s busiest port, in Vancouver, on July 1.CHRIS HELGREN/Reuters
A strike hitting ports across British Columbia is raising concerns that an extended walkout could have an inflationary impact in Canada as the labour action disrupts supply chains and global shipping.
About 7,400 members of the International Longshore & Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU) walked off the job on Saturday, 72 hours after the waterfront union served its strike notice. The strike has led to the suspension of imports of consumer goods and most exports of raw materials.
A crucial issue at the bargaining table is the workers’ future job security amid a plan to build a $3.5-billion, semi-automated container terminal near the Vancouver suburb of Delta.
“For the future of our work force, we had to take this step,” ILWU president Rob Ashton said in a statement.
Besides worries about automation, the union’s other main concerns are familiar at the bargaining table: disputes with employers over contracting out and disagreements over what constitutes a fair cost-of-living wage increase.
About 6,000 of the ILWU’s members are in the Vancouver region, 1,000 in the Prince Rupert area and the rest in Nanaimo and Port Alberni.
“Any disruption to port operations has a significant impact globally and on Canadians who rely on the businesses that import and export goods,” the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority said. Canada’s largest port estimates that one-third of the value of Canadian trade in goods outside of North America gets handled by the various terminals in the Vancouver region.
With consumers already facing high prices, if the labour dispute is prolonged, the extra cost of congested ports threatens to place further inflationary pressure on imported goods that arrive by ship and get transferred to trains and trucks, according to business advocacy groups.
The Canadian Federation of Independent Business is among the groups warning about shipping delays potentially creating chaos as imported goods such as perishables, appliances and electronics move from the West Coast, across the Prairies and into Central Canada.
“Some businesses may lose inventory if perishable goods are not unloaded and brought to market quickly,” the federation’s vice-president of national affairs, Jasmin Guénette, said in a news release.
On the export side, Canadian shipments of a wide range of raw materials such as fertilizer and lumber have been suspended. An array of different materials are transported in a variety of ways, including bulk shipments loaded onto vessels or inside reusable steel containers.
Federal Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan arrived in Vancouver on Friday and met separately with both sides in the dispute. He plans to stay in Vancouver while the ILWU and the BC Maritime Employers Association try to hammer out a deal.
So far, attempts to reach a pact with the assistance of federal mediators have not succeeded. The previous five-year collective agreement expired on March 31.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce is calling on the Liberal government to recall Parliament. But in an e-mailed statement on Sunday, Mr. O’Regan’s office responded: “We are not looking past the bargaining table, because the best deals are made at the table. Federal mediators continue to support the parties in their negotiations.”
Automation has emerged as a crucial issue, growing in importance after the federal government approved the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s proposal to build a $3.5-billion container terminal, which would be semi-automated.
In April, the government cleared the way for construction of the Roberts Bank Terminal 2 project, or RBT2, that would be located on an artificial island to be built near the Vancouver suburb of Delta.
Mr. Ashton has sounded the alarm over the anticipated magnitude of automation to load and unload cargo, arguing recently that RBT2 would result in many “jobs being done by robots.”
The port authority has yet to select RBT2′s terminal operator, which would have the final say over the number of jobs to be created. The port authority has said it will make it a condition of the selection process that the new terminal operator commit to employing at least 800 ILWU members.
But the union is worried that RBT2′s semi-automation will place pressure on existing terminal operators to install more machines and equipment to replace many duties currently done by unionized workers.
Container capacity would rise by nearly 50 per cent at Canada’s largest port when RBT2′s three berths are completed in the mid-2030s.
The union, environmental groups and one of the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority’s tenants, GCT Global Container Terminals Inc., oppose RBT2. GCT, which already operates the existing three-berth Deltaport container terminal near Delta, wants to expand by constructing a fourth berth.
The BC Maritime Employers Association represents 49 private-sector employers at more than 35 terminals spread across four port authorities in the province. Besides the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, three other authorities oversee their respective locations in Prince Rupert, Nanaimo and Port Alberni.
Picket lines went up at terminals across B.C. over the weekend.
“Our bargaining committee has made repeated efforts to be flexible and find compromise on key priorities, but regrettably, the parties have yet to be successful in reaching a settlement,” the association representing employers said in a statement.
During a news conference on Sunday at a break from negotiations, Mr. Ashton countered that union officials have shown greater flexibility than representatives for the employers. “We do not plan to leave the bargaining table,” he said, adding that Ottawa should not impose any settlement.
Parliament is currently on a summer recess until September. While the Liberal government could recall the House of Commons to introduce back-to-work legislation, it recently showed a clear reluctance to use that option when more than 100,000 federal public servants went on strike in April.
The minority government regularly relies on support from the NDP on key votes and the New Democrats said they would strongly oppose the use of back-to-work legislation during the public-service strike.
Parliament did approve back-to-work legislation in 2021 to end a strike at the Port of Montreal. In that case, the Liberals received the support of Conservative MPs and the bill passed over the objections of the NDP and the Bloc Québécois.
Leaders at the ILWU and the group of employers said the labour dispute will not affect the servicing of cruise lines docked at Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Vancouver Island.
Bulk grain shipments are expected to continue being exported overseas, in accordance with the Canada Labour Code.
Two coal-export terminals, Westshore Terminals Investment Corp. near Delta and Trigon Pacific Terminals Ltd. near Prince Rupert, would keep operating because those employers have their own collective agreements.
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
“Communication is one of the most important skills you require for a successful life.” — Catherine Pulsifer, author.
I’m one hundred percent in agreement with Pulsifer, which is why my evaluation of candidates begins with their writing skills. If a candidate’s writing skills and verbal communication skills, which I’ll assess when interviewing, aren’t well above average, I’ll pass on them regardless of their skills and experience.
Why?
Because business is fundamentally about getting other people to do things—getting employees to be productive, getting customers to buy your products or services, and getting vendors to agree to a counteroffer price. In business, as in life in general, you can’t make anything happen without effective communication; this is especially true when job searching when your writing is often an employer’s first impression of you.
Think of all the writing you engage in during a job search (resumes, cover letters, emails, texts) and all your other writing (LinkedIn profile, as well as posts and comments, blogs, articles, tweets, etc.) employers will read when they Google you to determine if you’re interview-worthy.
With so much of our communication today taking place via writing (email, text, collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, Slack, ClickUp, WhatsApp and Rocket.Chat), the importance of proficient writing skills can’t be overstated.
When assessing a candidate’s writing skills, you probably think I’m looking for grammar and spelling errors. Although error-free writing is important—it shows professionalism and attention to detail—it’s not the primary reason I look at a candidate’s writing skills.
The way someone writes reveals how they think.
Clear writing = Clear thinking
Structured paragraphs = Structured mind
Impactful sentences = Impactful ideas
Effective writing isn’t about using sophisticated vocabulary. Hemingway demonstrated that deceptively simple, stripped-down prose can captivate readers. Effective writing takes intricate thoughts and presents them in a way that makes the reader think, “Damn! Why didn’t I see it that way?” A good writer is a dead giveaway for a good thinker. More than ever, the business world needs “good thinkers.”
Therefore, when I come across a candidate who’s a good writer, hence a good thinker, I know they’re likely to be able to write:
Emails that don’t get deleted immediately and are responded to
Simple, concise, and unambiguous instructions
Pitches that are likely to get read
Social media content that stops thumbs
Human-sounding website copy
Persuasively, while attuned to the reader’s possible sensitivities
Now, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: AI, which job seekers are using en masse. Earlier this year, I wrote that AI’s ability to hyper-increase an employee’s productivity—AI is still in its infancy; we’ve seen nothing yet—in certain professions, such as writing, sales and marketing, computer programming, office and admin, and customer service, makes it a “fewer employees needed” tool, which understandably greatly appeals to employers. In my opinion, the recent layoffs aren’t related to the economy; they’re due to employers adopting AI. Additionally, companies are trying to balance investing in AI with cost-cutting measures. CEOs who’ve previously said, “Our people are everything,” have arguably created today’s job market by obsessively focusing on AI to gain competitive advantages and reduce their largest expense, their payroll.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume that most AI usage involves generating written content, content that’s obvious to me, and likely to you as well, to have been written by AI. However, here’s the twist: I don’t particularly care.
Why?
Because the fundamental skill I’m looking for is the ability to organize thoughts and communicate effectively. What I care about is whether the candidate can take AI-generated content and transform it into something uniquely valuable. If they can, they’re demonstrating the skills of being a good thinker and communicator. It’s like being a great DJ; anyone can push play, but it takes skill to read a room and mix music that gets people pumped.
Using AI requires prompting effectively, which requires good writing skills to write clear and precise instructions that guide the AI to produce desired outcomes. Prompting AI effectively requires understanding structure, flow and impact. You need to know how to shape raw information, such as milestones throughout your career when you achieved quantitative results, into a compelling narrative.
So, what’s the best way to gain and enhance your writing skills? As with any skill, you’ve got to work at it.
Two rules guide my writing:
Use strong verbs and nouns instead of relying on adverbs, such as “She dashed to the store.” instead of “She ran quickly to the store.” or “He whispered to the child.” instead of “He spoke softly to the child.”
Avoid using long words when a shorter one will do, such as “use” instead of “utilize” or “ask” instead of “inquire.” As attention spans get shorter, I aim for clarity, simplicity and, most importantly, brevity in my writing.
Don’t just string words together; learn to organize your thoughts, think critically, and communicate clearly. Solid writing skills will significantly set you apart from your competition, giving you an advantage in your job search and career.
Nick Kossovan, a well-seasoned veteran of the corporate landscape, offers “unsweetened” job search advice. You can send Nick your questions to artoffindingwork@gmail.com.
MONTREAL – Politics, public opinion and salary hikes south of the border helped push Air Canada toward a deal that secures major pay gains for pilots, experts say.
Hammered out over the weekend, the would-be agreement includes a cumulative wage hike of nearly 42 per cent over four years — an enormous bump by historical standards — according to one source who was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter. The previous 10-year contract granted increases of just two per cent annually.
The federal government’s stated unwillingness to step in paved the way for a deal, noted John Gradek, after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made it plain the two sides should hash one out themselves.
“Public opinion basically pressed the federal cabinet, including the prime minister, to keep their hands clear of negotiations and looking at imposing a settlement,” said Gradek, who teaches aviation management at McGill University.
After late-night talks at a hotel near Toronto’s Pearson airport, the country’s biggest airline and the union representing 5,200-plus aviators announced early Sunday morning they had reached a tentative agreement, averting a strike that would have grounded flights and affected some 110,000 passengers daily.
The relative precariousness of the Liberal minority government as well as a push to appear more pro-labour underlay the prime minister’s hands-off approach to the negotiations.
Trudeau said Friday the government would not step in to fix the impasse — unlike during a massive railway work stoppage last month and a strike by WestJet mechanics over the Canada Day long weekend that workers claimed road roughshod over their constitutional right to collective bargaining. Trudeau said the government respects the right to strike and would only intervene if it became apparent no negotiated deal was possible.
“They felt that they really didn’t want to try for a third attempt at intervention and basically said, ‘Let’s let the airline decide how they want to deal with this one,'” said Gradek.
“Air Canada ran out of support as the week wore on, and by the time they got to Friday night, Saturday morning, there was nothing left for them to do but to basically try to get a deal set up and accepted by ALPA (Air Line Pilots Association).”
Trudeau’s government was also unlikely to consider back-to-work legislation after the NDP tore up its agreement to support the Liberal minority in Parliament, Gradek said. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, whose party has traditionally toed a more pro-business line, also said last week that Tories “stand with the pilots” and swore off “pre-empting” the negotiations.
Air Canada CEO Michael Rousseau had asked Ottawa on Thursday to impose binding arbitration pre-emptively — “before any travel disruption starts” — if talks failed. Backed by business leaders, he’d hoped for an effective repeat of the Conservatives’ move to head off a strike in 2012 by legislating Air Canada pilots and ground crew to stick to their posts before any work stoppage could start.
The request may have fallen flat, however. Gradek said he believes there was less anxiety over the fallout from an airline strike than from the countrywide railway shutdown.
He also speculated that public frustration over thousands of cancelled flights would have flowed toward Air Canada rather than Ottawa, prompting the carrier to concede to a deal yielding “unheard of” gains for employees.
“It really was a total collapse of the Air Canada bargaining position,” he said.
Pilots are slated to vote in the coming weeks on the four-year contract.
Last year, pilots at Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and American Airlines secured agreements that included four-year pay boosts ranging from 34 per cent to 40 per cent, ramping up pressure on other carriers to raise wages.
After more than a year of bargaining, Air Canada put forward an offer in August centred around a 30 per cent wage hike over four years.
But the final deal, should union members approve it, grants a 26 per cent increase in the first year alone, retroactive to September 2023, according to the source. Three wage bumps of four per cent would follow in 2024 through 2026.
Passengers may wind up shouldering some of that financial load, one expert noted.
“At the end of the day, it’s all us consumers who are paying,” said Barry Prentice, who heads the University of Manitoba’s transport institute.
Higher fares may be mitigated by the persistence of budget carrier Flair Airlines and the rapid expansion of Porter Airlines — a growing Air Canada rival — as well as waning demand for leisure trips. Corporate travel also remains below pre-COVID-19 levels.
Air Canada said Sunday the tentative contract “recognizes the contributions and professionalism of Air Canada’s pilot group, while providing a framework for the future growth of the airline.”
The union issued a statement saying that, if ratified, the agreement will generate about $1.9 billion of additional value for Air Canada pilots over the course of the deal.
Meanwhile, labour tension with cabin crew looms on the horizon. Air Canada is poised to kick off negotiations with the union representing more than 10,000 flight attendants this year before the contract expires on March 31.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
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