On the waterfront: Management must help remove barriers, union head says. Vancouver Sun – 07/28

A study commissioned by the largest local union representing longshore workers – the ILWU Canada Local 500 – has uncovered serious allegations of sexual and other forms of harassment suffered by women working on the waterfront.

These allegations are of great concern to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union of Canada and we intend to address those that are within our power to change.

Vince Ready who conducted the study heard allegations from women working on the waterfront that they suffer verbal abuse, assaults of a sexual nature, discriminatory assignment of work, a shortage of washroom facilities for women and an acsence of workplace policies specific to women.  Ready also found that the culture of the waterfront discourages women who suffer this kind of abuse from coming forward to complain.

The ILWU has suspected this to be the case for some time.  We have raised these issues repeatedly with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) to no avail.

When ILWU Local 500 asked Ready to conduct his investigation it was precisely to get to the bottom of these problems because our previous attempts to address them in cooperation with the employer have failed miserably.

These issues are too important to allow this to degenerate into a blame game.  The ILWU intends to lead by example and we hope the BCMEA follows our lead as the law requires.

First, we embrace the suggestions Ready has made to address the problems he found.  We are undertaking a review of internal union processes and practices to ensure better representation of women in the ILWU.

In addition, at upcoming contract negotiations the ILWU will urge the BCMEA to agree to new contract provisions to address the barriers that are preventing women from coming forward with complaints.  We want new provisions that will deal with allegations of sexual and other forms of harassment in a swift, confidential and sensitive manner.

We will also be reviewing practices concerning access to employment with a view to bringing forward new approaches in our upcoming negotiations.

There is no doubt that the shipping industry is male-dominated.  As we’ve seen in other male-dominated sectors like policing and firefighting, change is painful when it comes to welcoming women into the workplace.

An important lesson learned from these experiences is that it is absolutely essential for our industry leaders among both union and management to be firm in their resolve that women can and must be included in the workplace.

The ILWU Canada has this resolve.  We invite our industry colleagues at the BCMEA and the employers they represent to join us.

-Tom Dufresne

President, ILWU Canada

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