Worker strike at Port of Montreal possible

By Michael McGrady, Maritime Direct Americas & Pacific Correspondent

MONTREAL — The largest seaport in Eastern Canada could face a worker strike due to ongoing disagreements between labor unions and employers to reach new union contracts.

Canadian Union of Public Employees in Quebec represents the dockworkers wants the workers to return to the negotiating table for a more equitable collective bargaining agreement. A spokesperson said that 99.71 percent of the union workers rejected the offer.

“We expect that terminal performance in the port will be severely impacted,” given the risks of workers taking action, Hapag-Lloyd AG said in an email to customers.

The union has been negotiated a contract with the Maritime Employers Association on behalf of 1,125 longshore workers at the Port of Montreal. The negotiations have been ongoing after the initial contract agreement expired in 2018.

According to CTV, a so-called truce ended after seven months. However, the truce between the two sides was only a temporary reprieve for shippers who were hit hard in the summer by the strike.

In another statement, via CTV, the Montreal Port Authority said that the workers’ 19-day stoppage during the summer of 2020 cost domestic and international wholesalers that depend on sea transit in sales over a two-month period.