A sign reading “closed” is shown next to the entrance to a terminal at the Port of Montreal in Montreal, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024, where a lockout of dock workers has been declared by the employer.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
Workers are locked out at Canada’s two biggest ports on Monday, after Montreal longshore employees rejected a contract with their employers group on Sunday night. Dock workers at British Columbia’s ports, including Vancouver, have been locked out since last Monday as employers push them to approve a new collective agreement.
About 1,200 Montreal dock workers represented by the Canadian Union of Public Employees on Sunday overwhelmingly rejected an offer from the Maritime Employers Association. The workers are seeking raises of 20 per cent over four years – deals that match those approved by their counterparts in Vancouver and Halifax. The employers had offered cumulative increases of 20 per cent over six years.
“The hostile offer was rejected because the employer refused to negotiate,” said Michel Murray, a CUPE spokesman. “Nothing in the offer reflects the union’s demands.”
The employers group said it “deplores” the outcome and reiterated its call for Minister of Labour, Steven MacKinnon, to intervene.
In B.C., talks to end the lock out that has halted container shipping were cancelled on Saturday. The B.C. Maritime Employers Association said it called off negotiations with the International Longshore and Warehouse Union after it saw no progress in a separate meeting with federal mediators. The union represent more than 700 supervisors at ports in Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo.
The head of the Montreal Port Authority, Julie Gascon, warned of dire economic consequences from the lockout. In a statement on Monday, Ms. Gascon said the disruption will drive ships farther from Canadian ports, spurring layoffs and lost business revenue.
“This lockout affects not only the 1,200 longshoremen directly impacted by the work stoppage, but it also impacts over 10,000 workers in the logistics sector, from trucking and railway employees to maritime agents and pilots,” Ms. Gascon said. “Logistics jobs are the first to be affected, which inevitably sets off a domino effect throughout the entire economy in the markets we serve.”
The Port of Montreal, Canada’s second-biggest port, moves nearly $400-million in goods every day. The Port of Montreal said three terminals would remain operational in the event of a lockout: the Bickerdike terminal, liquid bulk terminals and the grain terminal.
The Maritime Employers Association tabled on Thursday evening what it described as a “final, comprehensive offer,” and called on the union to reply by 8 p.m. Sunday whether it would accept the six-year pact. The offer came with a 72-hour lockout notice.
The employer said last week the offer included a 3-per-cent salary increase each year for four years and a 3.5-per-cent increase for the two subsequent years.
The increases would bring a longshore worker’s total average compensation at the Port of Montreal to more than $200,000 a year at the end of the contract.
The association added that it is asking longshore workers to provide at least one hour’s notice when they will be absent from a shift — instead of one minute — to help reduce management issues “which have a major effect on daily operations.”
On Friday, a union official said the new offer contained just “cosmetic changes” and doesn’t address issues about scheduling, a major flashpoint in talks.
On Friday morning, the union and employers association spent two hours with a federal mediator without making progress.
With files from Canadian Press
