VANCOUVER, (July 29, 2005) — A government-appointed facilitator will make recommendations to end a month-long trucker strike at the Port of Vancouver after 48-hours of talks.

Veteran mediator Vince Ready emerged from two-days of negotiations between 1,200 independent container haulers and their carrier companies yesterday, and announced that while no deal was reached, he will present both sides with a set of non-binding recommendations today.

The news has created some optimism that the five-week strike may be coming to an end. The truckers, represented by the newly- created Vancouver Container Truck Association, are mainly demanding a rate increase and fuel surcharge to mitigate the rising cost of diesel. The truckers say they make $350 a container, but it costs them between $300-$400 to haul it.

As TodaysTrucking.com reported in an exclusive story earlier this week, the two sides agreed to meet on Wednesday, after the VCTA named a new negotiator. One source said that the carrier group was more comfortable in dealing with new representative Ken Halliday, and was optimistic he could better communicate to them and Ready the truckers’ demands.

Furthermore, the carriers are watching closely a side deal that’s in the works between the Teamsters union and 300 other drivers that haul for a handful of unionized container carriers. The VCTA has apparently promised the non-union brokers they would mirror a ratified Teamsters deal and put it to their own members for a secrete ballot, an insider told TodaysTrucking.com in an exclusive interview this week. (www.todaystrucking.com/displayarticle.cfm?ID=4222).

Meanwhile, the federal and provincial governments have indicated they may step in if the two sides can’t come to terms following Ready’s suggestions.

B.C. Labour Minister Mike de Jong told Canadian Press that the government is prepared to work around current Canadian competition laws to begin moving freight from Vancouver’s ports, where containers continue to pile up on docks.

De Jong said he’s spoken with Ready and is convinced a deal is close, however.

The Vancouver Board of Trade estimates the holdup in container cargo is costing the Canadian economy at least $75 million a day.

— with files from Canadian Press