The union that represents more than 700 locked-out supervisors at British Columbia ports says it will go to court to fight for its right to bargain collectively.

International Longshore and Warehouse Union Ship & Dock Foremen Local 514 released a statement Tuesday afternoon following Labor Minister Steven Mackinnon’s announcement that he was considering ending the labor standoff by ordering binding arbitration.

“We are at a total impasse and the path forward is not clear,” Mackinnon said at a news conference in Ottawa. “How long the disputes will last is unclear.”

The BC Maritime Employers Association has locked out dock supervisors after the union gave 72 hours’ notice of a strike.

Union leaders said they planned to launch pressure tactics by refusing overtime, before the employer took the more drastic step of completely shutting down operations at all B.C. ports.

Frank Morena, president of ILWU Local 514, alleges the BCMEA locked out workers in an effort to force the federal government to intervene.

“Christmas came early for port employers and instead of receiving a lump of coal for their bad behavior – refusal to negotiate, large-scale lockout and cessation of mediation this weekend – Labor Minister MacKinnon gave them a huge Christmas present: a return to work orders and forced arbitration,” Morena said in a statement.

“This is a huge insult to our union, to unions and to collective bargaining rights guaranteed by the Charter.”

He added that the union would launch a legal challenge under the Charter to protect its members’ right to reach an agreement through collective bargaining.

A labor and employment lawyer who spoke to CTV News said if the BCMEA locks out workers in order to force arbitration, the ruling may not work as intended.

“Be careful what you wish for,” Sundeep Gohkale said.

He said it’s possible a federally appointed arbitrator will give workers the concessions they seek when it comes to protecting jobs from automation.

“I don’t think we can look at it in its entirety right now,” Gohkale said. “We must wait until the arbitration decision is rendered to fully understand whether the strategy ultimately worked or whether it backfired.”

It will be up to the Canada Industrial Relations Board to follow up on the order from the Minister of Labour.

Given the looming legal challenge, it is unclear when shipments through British Columbia ports might actually resume.

Meanwhile, the labor dispute continues to disrupt trade worth more than $800 million a day.

“This couldn’t come at a worse time. We are at the start of a very busy holiday season,” said Bridgitte Anderson, President and CEO of the Vancouver Board of Trade.

“Many small and medium-sized businesses rely on these shipments passing through the port to fill their shelves. »

A calculator on the VBOT website estimates the economic impact of the lockout so far at nearly $6.5 billion – and counting.