Montreal Dockworker Lockout Will Impact Canada in ‘Matter of Days’
Union dockworkers at the Port of Montreal have been locked out after rejecting a “final” contract offer from the Maritime Employers Association (MEA), shutting down all four major container terminals at the hub and further straining supply chains on both of Canada’s coasts.
The lockout of all 1,197 members of the Local 375 branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) began Sunday night at 9 p.m., significantly widening the scope of an ongoing work stoppage.
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The Port of Montreal moves $400 million Canadian dollars ($287,000) worth of cargo every day, second in the country only to the Port of Vancouver, which is experiencing a foremen lockout of its own across major British Columbia ports. The B.C. ports remain open.
The Montreal Port Authority raised alarm over a possible prolonged conflict, with CEO Julie Gascon saying at a Monday morning news conference that there will be “catastrophic” consequences for the Canadian economy if the lockout continues. She had previously called on the Canadian federal government to intervene in the labor action.
Gascon said it was only a “matter of days” before the lockout is felt by citizens daily. She estimated that over 10,000 workers in the logistics sector—from trucking and railway employees to maritime agents and pilots—will feel the brunt of the work stoppage.
Rail operations at the port’s Viau, Maisonneuve, Cast and Racine terminals have been suspended. Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) is not accepting any exports to the Port of Montreal due to the strike. Canadian National Railway suspended and removed all capacity at inland terminals for exports destined to Montreal’s terminals.
Maersk said Saturday it has three vessels underway with planned calls in Montreal. However, it is considering omitting Montreal and proceeding to Canada’s other major East Coast ports, Halifax and St. John, as part of its contingency plans in case the port doesn’t reopen. CMA CGM was evaluating whether one of its ships could import discharge at Halifax instead of Montreal.
“Each container that is not moved here in Montreal is a missing piece in the Canadian economy,” Gascon said. “Today, the lockout affects the logistics chain. Tomorrow, it’ll be the factories. After that, it’ll be the retailers.”
Roughly 320 CUPE longshoremen had already been on an indefinite strike since Oct. 31 as the union seeks out a new contract. But that strike only impacted two of the Montreal port’s terminals, which handled 40 percent of container traffic.
A larger overtime strike that affected all major terminals has been in place since Oct. 10, with a full-day strike taking place Oct. 27.
The MEA’s latest offer provided for a 3 percent salary increase per year for four years and a 3.5 percent increase for the two subsequent years, retroactive to the beginning of 2024. When the contract expires, the total average compensation of a longshore worker at the port would be more than $200,000 Canadian dollars ($144,000) per year.
According to the union, 99.7 percent of the members voted the deal down.
“The hostile offer was rejected because the employer refused to negotiate. Nothing in the offer reflects the union’s demands,” said Michel Murray, union advisor at CUPE, in a statement. “If the MEA had respected the collective bargaining processes, solutions would have been found and a conflict at the Port of Montreal would have been avoided.”
According to the union, the new contract offer doesn’t address issues regarding scheduling and work-life balancing, which have been major sticking points in the negotiations.
On Sunday night, the MEA reiterated its request to Canada’s Minister of Labour, Steven MacKinnon, to intervene to resolve the impasse as quickly as possible.
“A number of economic and maritime players across the country have made the same request in recent weeks to get things moving,” the employers said. “Like the MEA, they all want this dispute to be resolved so that Québec and Canadian businesses can no longer be held hostage and rely on predictable and uninterrupted operations at the Port of Montreal.”
Tagging MacKinnon in a statement on X, Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet said, “This conflict will have major consequences on the economy if it continues. It is imperative that Ottawa act quickly to bring the parties to an agreement as soon as possible and restore activities at the Port.”
Marc Cadieux, president of the Quebec Trucking Association (ACQ), said that the labor disruption directly impacts land transportation and the hundreds of jobs associated with it.
“Nearly 2,000 trucks move through the Port of Montreal every day. The freezing of its activities will have an immediate impact on many carriers who may have to consider layoffs,” Cadieux said in a statement. “The ACQ strongly urges the responsible stakeholders to find a solution to restart commercial activities at this crucial point of global trade as soon as possible and avoid compromising our reputation on the international stage.”
The Port of Montreal longshore workers have been without a new collective bargaining agreement since Dec. 31, 2023.
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