Port of Montreal dockworkers begin three-day strike at two terminals

Work stoppage expected to last until Thursday morning

MONTREAL — The union representing longshore workers at the Port of Montreal began a three-day strike at two terminals.

The Maritime Employers Association confirmed the work stoppage began Monday morning at 7 a.m. ET at the Viau and Maisonneuve Termont terminals.

The strike is expected to last until Thursday morning.

The union local, which is affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees, had said about 350 members would be part of the job action.

The longshore workers’ contract with the Maritime Employers Association expired on Dec. 31.

The association issued a statement on Sunday saying it has tried “all possible means” of avoiding the strike. It said neither mediation nor an emergency meeting with the Canada Industrial Relations Board were fruitful.

Last week, the 1,150 longshoremen at the Port of Montreal rejected the latest offer from the Maritime Employers Association by 99.63 per cent while also giving themselves a strike mandate.

Michel Murray, a union spokesperson told a news conference on Friday it would be willing to lift the strike notice if the employer is willing to address two issues. One pertains to the use of senior foremen during operations that has been greatly reduced and another on scheduling that was not supposed to be used frequently but has been at the Termont facility, according to union members.

As early as May, a number of shipping companies had rerouted cargo from the Montreal port, the country’s second-largest, over concerns about labour unrest.

“Any work stoppage at the Port of Montreal has major consequences,” the Maritime Employers Association said in a statement.

“With cargo handled by longshoremen already down by 24 per cent since 2022, we have a joint responsibility to secure a signed collective agreement as quickly as possible.”

Federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon said Friday in a post on X that he was following the situation closely.

“The Port of Montreal is critical to our supply chains,” he wrote.

In a statement, the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) said it too was concerned about the impact of a strike on its membership. The organization said it would be the third such action at the Port of Montreal since 2020.

“There have been too many strikes affecting our supply chains in recent years, causing delivery delays, production slowdowns and impacting small businesses’ bottom line,” Jasmin Guenette, the CFIB’s vice-president, said.

“It’s simply irresponsible for the unions to take strike action yet again.”