Canada Sends Port Contract Talks to Arbitration, Ending Lockouts
Twin labor lockouts at Canadian ports in Montreal and British Columbia have been put on ice.
Canada’s Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon ruled that contract negotiation disputes across the gateways will go to binding arbitration, effectively requiring workers at the ports to go back to work.
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“I have directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order that all operations and duties at the ports resume and to assist the parties to settle their collective agreements by imposing final and binding arbitration,” MacKinnon said during a press conference in Ottawa.
The minister said the contract talks between the bi-coastal unions and their respective maritime employers was at a “total impasse.” MacKinnon also noted there was “no perspective, no possibility realistically” of a new agreement taking place under current circumstances.
Canada’s government had been under immense pressure from business associations to intervene during the twin lockouts due to the concerns about the country’s reputation as a reliable trade partner. Container shipments entering Montreal were at a standstill with all its terminals closed, while vessels piled up amid delays in the Ports of Vancouver and Prince Rupert.
As part of the decision, MacKinnon directed the board to extend the terms of the existing collective bargaining agreements until new deals are reached.
MacKinnon invoked his authority under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code. The minister previously used this measure in August to end a one-day work stoppage involving 9,300 union workers at Canadian railroads Canadian National Railway (CN) and Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC).
Both railroads have agreed with the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference on an arbitrator to set the terms of the next collective agreement. The Teamsters have challenged in court the government’s ordering of the labor board to stop the railway disputes, arguing it set a dangerous precedent by violating workers’ constitutional rights.
The union representing 1,200 dockworkers currently locked out of the Port of Montreal, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), denounced MacKinnon’s move.
“It’s a dark day for workers’ rights. The right to bargain collectively is a constitutional right. This is not a negotiable right,” said Patrick Gloutney, president of CUPE-Québec, in a statement. “In the case of the Port of Montreal, it is astonishing, because the employer declared a lockout last Sunday evening and immediately requested government intervention, without really negotiating. The citizens of this country should be very worried this morning. We must collectively wake up and denounce this decline in the rights of the middle class.”
Sourcing Journal reached out to the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU), which represented the 730 port foremen who walked out on the job at several ports in British Columbia, including those in Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Surrey.
The Maritime Employers Association (MEA), which locked out the Montreal dockworkers during their negotiations, welcomed the decision, The MEA said It will take the necessary steps to ensure that the port’s activities resume as quickly as possible.
The country’s West Coast port employer counterpart, the British Columbia Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), said it intends to follow direction received from the CIRB and will inform member employers of operational updates as soon as possible.
MacKinnon’s decision also ended a 26-month lockout at the Port of Quebec, which has been using replacement workers throughout the duration.
In June, the Canadian government passed a law that prevents the use of replacement workers in labor disputes. That legislation does not take effect until June 2025.
“The anti-scab law should be in effect immediately, because if we already had it, the conflict at the port of Quebec would have been resolved a long time ago,” said Gloutney. “The employer would have been forced to negotiate. All solutions for all parties are at a negotiation table!”
Canadian commerce associations breathed a collective sigh of relief, given that the disruptions affected port activity that handled roughly $1.2 billion Canadian dollars ($860 million) of goods per day.
“The Minister of Labour must make decisions for the greater good of the country. Our supply chain needs to be protected, and so do our businesses and their employees,” said Jasmin Guenette, vice president, national affairs of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. “A lengthy work stoppage has harmful consequences for the whole economy that are disproportionate to the benefit any of the parties involved can obtain.”
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade called for stability in the supply chain, citing the various labor disruptions in the country over the past year. Canada’s West Coast ports endured a 13-day dockworker strike in summer 2023, while lock and bridge operators at the country’s St. Lawrence Seaway walked off the job for a week last October.
“We urge the federal government and the Industrial Inquiry Commission to examine the underlying structural issues behind these disruptions, evaluate the far-reaching economic harm that disruptions cause, and identify innovative tools to provide lasting certainty for our supply chains and the public interest,” said Bridgitte Anderson, president and CEO the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.
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