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Now that Port Metro Vancouver has granted access to just 68 companies under a new licensing system, more than 600 port truck drivers say they're effectively out of a job.
Port Metro Vancouver pledged to create a new system after drivers complained about long wait times and low rates, deployed a bitter work stoppage for almost a month in 2014.
Under the new system, 68 companies representing 1,450 trucks have been approved to serve the port. Last year the number of trucks working the port was estimated at more than 2,000.
"For years, the container trucking sector that serves Port Metro Vancouver has been unstable and drivers have found it increasingly difficult to make a living," said Peter Xotta, Port Metro Vancouver’s vice-president. "There is widespread agreement there are too many trucking companies
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and drivers, which has resulted in undercutting and other problems."
"There was a broad range of criteria (in choosing who would be included in new systems), including the ability to pay fees to fund the provincial auditing program and the new provincial trucking commissioner, and minimum environmental and safety standards for trucks."
On Sunday, many of those who didn't make the list, were demanding to know why.
"Looking at the companies they accepted, it really contradicts what they're saying. Some of the companies have old trucks," said truck driver Tom Johnson. "Some of the company owners have been bankrupted in the past."
For more of the CBC News story: www.cbc.ca
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