Consumers and small businesses are set to feel the impact of the strike by port workers in British Columbia, business groups warn, as facilities that handle much of the goods traded in Canada remain closed.
Industry organizations say the work stoppage for 7,400 port sector workers — now in its fifth day — will support shipments, deplete stocks and drive up prices of shortage goods.
Small and medium-sized businesses will be hardest hit because they have fewer resources and less influence to rely on, said Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters trade group boss Dennis Darby.
“Companies don’t run huge inventories, as we’ve seen during the pandemic,” Darby said, adding that some might only last a few days.
“They may have contracts with their customers and do not have the ability to pass on increases [de coûts] “, he added. But for those who can, “it only accentuates the potential inflationary effect”.
While contracts could be lost if goods aren’t delivered or received on time, undelivered perishable data could also cause retailers to lose sales and “significant revenue,” the VP of National Affairs argues. from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, Jasmin Guénette.
Bob Ballantyne, senior adviser and former president of the Freight Management Association of Canada, says consumers could eventually see price increases in sectors ranging from clothing to motor vehicles.
“The fact that so many retail goods come from [d’Asie de l’Est] these days — from China, Vietnam and Korea — means that retailers, and of course consumers, will be greatly affected,” Ballantyne explained.
“The pinch will be felt very widely throughout the Canadian economy. »
The flow of auto parts and building materials into Canada will also slow, hurting already congested supply chains, he said. “People are waiting for vehicles, and this will further aggravate the situation in the short and medium term. »
Meanwhile, exporters could soon face a warehousing crisis, as well as possible temporary closures.
“If it’s industries with a continuous process, like some chemical industries, shutting down those activities is a big deal and costs a lot of money,” Ballantyne observed.
Companies specializing in products such as lumber, fertilizers and sulfur are all facing a halt to overseas shipments from west coast ports.
Grain products continue to be shipped abroad, in accordance with the rules of the Canada Labor Code.
Negotiations
British Columbia port workers began their strike on Saturday, before negotiations over wages, automation and contracting reached an impasse at the ports, which handle 16% of total traded goods in the country.
The union, the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, says its jurisdiction over maintenance is being eroded by the use of contract workers, and the main problem is employers’ refusal to accept “a sentence” of an interview document.
For its part, the Maritime Employers Association of British Columbia says the union is trying to “aggressively expand” its control of maintenance duties well beyond an agreement which, according to the association, has been “legally well-established for decades”.
Company organizations as well as representatives from Alberta and Saskatchewan have called on Ottawa to intervene and end the strike, but federal Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan has said he wants the union and employers are returning to the bargaining table.