Montreal Port Employers Threaten Lockout if ‘Final’ Offer Not Accepted

Canada’s Maritime Employers Association (MEA) has submitted what it calls a “final” contract offer to union dockworkers in hopes of ending their partial indefinite strike at the Port of Montreal. But now the employers are threatening to counter with a lockout if the union doesn’t agree to the new terms.

The MEA is offering the Local 375 branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) a cumulative wage increase of more than 20 percent over six years. The employers are asking the union for a reply by 8 p.m. local time Sunday.

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If a deal isn’t made by that deadline, then as of 9 p.m., “only essential services and activities unrelated to longshoring will continue” at the port thereafter.

Roughly 320 dockworkers at CUPE 375 have been on strike at two of the Port of Montreal’s container terminals since Oct. 31. The union is seeking a salary increase of 20 percent over four years, which would be the same given to their counterparts at the Ports of Vancouver and Halifax.

Wages haven’t been the only issue for the longshoremen. They also are targeting the terminals’ operator, Termont, saying that the company’s work schedules have a negative impact on work-life balance.

The dockworkers have been working without a new contract since Dec. 31, 2023.

The strike affects 40 percent of container volume handled at the Port of Montreal. Due to the decline in volumes, the terminals now require only 45 longshore workers to complete the tasks on the docks, according to the Montreal Port Authority.

According to maritime intelligence company eeSea, there are four vessels waiting at anchorage and one at berth.

Julie Gascon, CEO and president of the Montreal Port Authority, called on the Canadian federal government to intervene in the deadlocked labor talks Thursday.

The MEA’s offer includes a 3 percent salary bump 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 dockworker at the port will be more than $200,000 Canadian dollars ($144,000) per year. The proposed increases will also apply to the current pension plan and benefits.

On condition, if a deal is made, the employers say they will require the dockworkers to provide at least one hour’s notice of absence instead of one minute before a shift. This measure is designed to reduce absence management issues, which the MEA says has a major effect on daily operations.

According to the employers, nearly $400 million Canadian dollars ($288 million) in goods pass through the Port of Montréal per day, generating $268 million Canadian dollars ($193 million) in economic activity.

The current partial strike at the port coincides with a larger overtime work stoppage by the 1,200 CUPE dockworkers who are seeking a new contract. The overtime strike, which has taken place across all terminals, has been ongoing since Oct. 10.

Workers at the port have taken numerous forms of labor action since the end of September, when the 320 longshoremen at the Viau and Maisonneuve terminals first went on strike for three days from Sept. 30 to Oct. 2. Another strike occurred on Oct. 27, with the full slate of dockworkers across all terminals walking off the job.

Another labor stoppage slowing ocean freight movement on the other side of Canada is still persists as 700 dock foremen remain locked out across British Columbia ports like Vancouver and Prince Rupert.

However, the B.C. Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA) and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) Local 514 are scheduled to meet with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service on Saturday at 5 p.m. local time.

As of Thursday, The Port of Vancouver counts just one vessel at berth, while seven are dwelling outside of the port’s jurisdiction.

Steven MacKinnon, who has already had an active start to his tenure as Canada’s Labor Minister in putting the breaks on the country’s railroad lockout in late August, said in a post on X Thursday both the Montreal and British Columbia talks are “progressing at an insufficient pace.”

While MacKinnon said he is monitoring both negotiations, pledging federal government support, he remarked that there was a “concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved.”