What is port automation – and why are striking workers concerned about it?

More than 7,400 unionized employees at more than 30 ports along British Columbia’s coast are off the job in a labour dispute that concerns, among a number of issues, how automation will affect the future of work at vital maritime gateways for Canadian imports and exports. The International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada (ILWU), which represents the striking workers, has warned for years automation will be a threat to current and future jobs at the province’s ports. There are now more than 50 terminals around the world with some degree of automation, according to a report from the International Transport…