ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø

July 6, 2005 7:00 AM, EDT

Mediation between port truckers and brokers aimed at resolving an eight-day long strike at the Port of Vancouver failed Tuesday, Reuters reported, leaving more than 1,000 drivers off the job at Canada’s largest container port.

The striking Vancouver Container Truckers Association fingered the brokers for the failure of the talks, saying in a statement they failed to negotiate higher rates and several brokers failed to show up for the meeting.

The governments of British Columbia and Canada appointed an independent mediator last week to try and negotiate a settlement, Reuters reported.

Roughly $24 million in goods are not being hauled while the truckers remain off the job, Reuters said.

Shippers said that the longer the strike lasts the longer it will take to recover, saying that for every week the strike continues, it will take them three weeks to catch up.

(Click here for previous coverage.)