The federal government is stepping into the BC port workers strike.

Labour Minister Seamus O’Regan said in a statement issued late Tuesday that the gap between the positions of employers and the port workers union in the 11-day-old strike is "not sufficient to justify a continued work stoppage."

O’Regan has given a federal mediator 24 hours to send recommended terms to end the strike - and 24 hours after he’s given those recommendations to both sides, they’ll have to decide whether to agree to the deal.

About 74-hundred members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union Canada walked off the job on Canada Day, halting cargo at 30 ports.

The workers say that they are fighting for protections against contracting out and automation, as well as for higher wages.

The strike is starting to hit business operations in Canada.