VANCOUVER, (Aug. 1, 2005) — The first day of the calendar month starts just like the last one did — with about 1,200 container haulers at the port of Vancouver still off the job.

The five-week strike will continue indefinitely as a mediator’s long-awaited proposal was unanimously rejected by about 40 trucking carriers that contract the owner-ops, CBC reports.

The independent truckers — represented by the Vancouver Container Truck Association — voted 90 percent in favour of a two-year deal yesterday.

B.C.-appointed facilitator Vince Ready reportedly proposed a general rate increase for the truckers, a fuel surcharge, as well as well as a mechanism for protecting them from rising diesel prices down the road.

Several reports state that issues like congested ports and waiting times — a major headache and source of lost profit for many drivers — would be addressed by both levels of government over the next few months.

Carrier representative Richard Longpre told CBC the proposal would have created divisions between several firms, and that some major carrier customers refused to support the raises as well.

Not much has changed, in fact, since the start of the strike. Several carrier owners told TodaysTrucking.com at the time that they sympathized with the truckers and believed that the drivers deserved a pay increase. However, many admitted that the shippers would not back them up by picking up part of the tab.

Longpre said the trucking companies are hoping for some type of “cooling-off period” to allow the companies and truckers to come up with a rate structure that would apply to the entire industry.

The truckers’ new spokesman Ken Halliday said the drivers were “shocked” by the companies’ rejection of the deal.

Federal Industry Minister David Emerson told Canadian Press he was disappointed and puzzled over the carriers’ decision. He also echoed the VCTA’s claim that the carriers rejected some of the rates they already agreed to in negotiations.

The truckers, who drove off the job June 27, haul about 40 percent of the goods arriving at the ports.

It’s been estimated that the strike is costing B.C.’s economy $75 million per day. Shippers and retailers — big and small — have stressed in the last week that the situation is getting critical. While big box importers have been able to divert freight to other ports, some smaller businesses have had goods sitting in containers on the docks for weeks.

— With files from CBC News and CP