Further negotiations won’t bring end to B.C. port workers strike, employer says

Talks to end a strike at B.C.’s ports have stalled with both sides accusing the other of being unreasonable.

The BC Maritime Employers Association released a statement Monday afternoon saying it had gone as far as possible on core issues and it doesn’t think more bargaining is going to produce a collective agreement.

The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada, representing thousands of workers who load and unload cargo at terminals at more than 30 B.C. ports, says it’s the association that “sabotaged the progress.”

Thousands of union members walked off the job Saturday morning. Both sides negotiated over the weekend and were at the table earlier in the day on Monday.

The association said it has advanced “reasonable proposals and positions in good faith” but said the union refuses to budge.