British Columbia seeks cooling-off period to end trucker strike

   British Columbia said Wednesday that it, along with Port Metro Vancouver and the Canadian government, are “taking immediate and coordinated action” to try and end the truck driver strike at port.
   The provincial government said in a press release that it is preparing back-to-work legislation with a 90-day cooling-off period for truckers who are members of Unifor, with the intention of introducing the legislation as early as Monday. The order does not cover 1,000 non-unionized truckers who have also withdrawn their services, many of whom belong to the United Truckers Association of British Columbia.
   The province also said Port Metro Vancouver will begin a planned reform of the licensing system and move to terminate licenses.
   The British Columbia Truckers Association said that radio messages in both English and Punjab were being broadcast by the port authority that said, in part, “Any truckers who decide not to return to work will jeopardize their opportunity to service the port in the future.”
   The provincial government said in its release that “these actions are necessary, and are required today to protect the economy, protect jobs for British Columbians and Canadians, and keep goods and services moving across the country.”
   It has been several days since a 14-point action plan was presented to truckers, and they have not returned to work.
   Port Metro Vancouver is Canada’s largest port. In 2013, the port handled a record 135 million tones of cargo. Approximately 2,000 Port Metro Vancouver licensed trucks service the port.