VANCOUVER—Workers at the biggest port in Canada have drawn a line in the sand over robots.

After a labour dispute briefly shut down most of B.C.’s port operations this May, a union representing port workers and the authority that runs the port have reached an agreement that robots will not be allowed to take over port workers’ jobs without the union getting a say.

The agreement marks the culmination of a high-profile labour dispute that hinged on the issue of automation, and is likely to set an example for how Canadian unions and employers deal with the ongoing replacement of human workers by technology in all sectors going forward.

The B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) locked out about 6,500 unionized longshore workers in May, after negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) broke down and the union launched “limited and targeted” job action at two large terminals in Metro Vancouver. The lockout threatened to paralyze Canadian trade as Canada’s largest port was unable to operate, and negotiators from both parties worked through the night with the help of a federal mediator to reach a tentative deal.

The parties declined to discuss the terms of the deal at the time it was reached, since members did not yet have the opportunity to review and ratify it, but said automation was the number one sticking point between the parties.

Ever more sophisticated machines are already replacing human workers in ports around the world. Long Beach Container Terminal in Southern California is almost entirely automated, with battery-operated autonomous vehicles moving containers around the port.

The deal was ratified by both union members and employers last month. Representatives from both parties spoke with Star Vancouver this week and confirmed a key component of the deal was the formation of an employer-union committee aimed at mitigating job losses due to automation.

“The job of the union and what I hope the job of the government would be, is to protect workers jobs,” said Rob Ashton, president of ILWU Canada.

As to whether the committee guaranteed in the agreement would succeed in fending off job losses due to the increasing prevalence of working robots, Ashton was cautious.

“Only time will tell,” he said.

Jeff Scott, chair of the BCMEA, called the agreement a “collaborative” approach to automation. He said investments in technology have allowed B.C.’s ports to grow, and therefore increase working hours overall. He also said employers are well-equipped to provide training programs for workers through their existing training facilities, as the nature of work needed at the ports changes.

Ashton said his union isn’t opposed to the use of new technology, especially if it reduces emissions made by the ports. But ILWU will always advocate that all new machines should be operated by people.

“If they allow the wholesale slaughter of Canadian jobs and have robots doing them we’re going to be in a lot of trouble,” he said.

Sunil Johal, a fellow at the Brookfield Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship who studies automation, said that although fears about the number of job losses that automation could bring about are sometimes overblown, there should be a real sense of urgency in how the government, employers and labour unions prepare for the way jobs will change as a result of automation.

“Almost all sectors could potentially be dealing with automation issues in the medium to long term,” he said in an interview by phone. “I do think it’s something that will become relevant in all collective agreements across all sectors.”

Kendra Strauss, an associate professor and the director of Simon Fraser University’s labour studies department, said labour unions and workers’ advocates across a range of sectors will likely look to the agreement made between ILWU and the port employers as a model, especially because the port workers have dealt with the encroachment of machinery for decades, and have significant bargaining power.

“One of the greatest strengths of the longshore workers is they have a really long history of quite militant organization including quite strong community linkages,” Strauss said. “I think unions are going to be watching these kinds of negotiations with interest.”

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While workers’ groups in manufacturing and resources have long histories of negotiating with employers over the increasing use of machinery, sectors like retail and food service — where automated payments are quickly becoming the norm — have less experience on job displacement by technology and may need models to follow.

In the U.S., unions in those sectors have already considered using committee models to deal with automation, like that negotiated by the ILWU, Strauss said.

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