Vancouver grain workers reach tentative deal to end strike

Workers at six grain terminals in the Canadian port of Vancouver have reached a tentative deal on September 27, ending a strike potentially impacting exports from the world’s top canola and number three wheat exporter during the harvesting period.

The Grain Workers Union and the Vancouver Terminal Elevators’ Association reached the tentative agreement to get Canada’s harvest to market, Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon posted on X on Friday.

According to a memorandum of settlement posted to Facebook by the Grain Workers Union Local 333, workers will vote on the deal by Oct. 4.

The two sides had agreed to MacKinnon’s request to resume negotiations alongside federal mediators after workers walked off the job last Tuesday when talks broke down amid a deadlock over benefits.

—Reporting for Reuters by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru, with files from Geralyn Wichers