Canada's federal govt urges renewed talks to end Pacific dock workers' strike

By Ismail Shakil and Rod Nickel

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Canadian government is urging striking Pacific coast dock workers who run two of the countries busiest ports to resume contract talks as a walkout, disrupting C$500 million ($376.7 million) in trade per day, entered its fifth day on Wednesday.

Some 7,500 dock workers representing the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) went on strike on Saturday after they failed to reach an agreement with the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA).

The workers are seeking an 11% wage increase in the first year and 6% in the second year, as well as an C$8,000 ($6,028) signing bonus as an "inflation adjustment allowance," the Globe and Mail newspaper reported on Tuesday, citing unnamed sources.

The union declined to comment on the newspaper report for confidentiality reasons.

The strike has upended operations at two of Canada's three busiest ports, the Port of Vancouver and Port of Prince Rupert. They are key gateways for exporting the country's natural resources and commodities and bringing in raw materials.

The talks had stalled on Tuesday and the two sides broke off negotiations.

"We encourage both parties to immediately return to the bargaining table and remain there until a deal is reached," Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan said on Twitter.

While the two parties are not speaking directly, they are both still speaking to mediators, a spokesperson for O'Regan said on Wednesday.

The Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CM&E) industry body said the strike is disrupting C$500 million in trade every day, according to a statement.

"All manufacturing sectors are affected by the strike, from automotive to energy, to parts manufacturers, to consumer goods," CM&E said, calling for an immediate end to the walkout.

Pulse crops - dried seeds of legume plants like peas and lentils - about one-third of which are exported in containers rather than in bulk, have also been impacted.

"We're seeing the slowdown you would expect," said Jeff English, vice president at industry group Pulse Canada. "Canada's just-in-time delivery system requires everything to be running on all cylinders.

Each day of significantly disrupted logistics generally requires a week to catch up, English said.

July is a slow month for Canadian crop exports, but the disruption hurts Canada's reputation as a reliable supplier with customers in top pulse markets India, Turkey and China, English said.

The Mining Association of Canada too has called for action from the federal government to minimize what it said were the strike's "serious negative effects" on the economy.

($1 = 1.3272 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa and Rod Nickel in Winnipeg; Editing by Bill Berkrot)