News / Mediation talks begin at port of Montreal after workers vote to strike

Port of Montreal

The port of Montreal’s longshore workers yesterday began mediation talks with the Maritime Employers’ Association (MEA), following a vote to strike this week. 

The Local 375 branch, part of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), announced that 99.63% of its members had rejected MEA’s latest offer and 97.88% had voted for pressure tactics, “up to and including strike action”. More than 90% of the members votedl. 

Montreal’s dock workers have been without a collective agreement since the start of the year. Rules mean they cannot strike without 72-hours’ notice, before “any pressure tactics” can be used and the union has up to 60 days to exercise its strike mandate. In theory, a strike could be held simultaneously with that at the US east and Gulf coast ports. 

The dockworkers reportedly want a 20% wage increase over four years, and “a better work-life balance”. The union said it would not be giving any interviews, “as all of its energy is focused on negotiations”. 

The MEA tried earlier this year to designate longshore work as an essential service, which would have prevented strikes, but it failed.

The CUPE has called on the government not to intervene, claiming it was prior interventions by the government that had brought things to this point. 

“During the last round of bargaining in 2021, the Trudeau government imposed forced arbitration and legislated workers back to work. As a result, none of the key issues were resolved at the bargaining table, and all those issues have now resurfaced, three years later.”

Indeed, CUPE national president Mark Hancock warned the government to “back off”. 

“It’s another textbook example of how government tampering in collective bargaining prevents labor peace, rather than enabling it,” he said. 

“Our message to the Trudeau government is simple – back off; let the parties negotiate a fair deal. And don’t even think about touching our members’ charter rights to free and fair collective bargaining.” 

The MEA said: “The Canadian supply chain is already fragile. Negotiations to renew the longshoremen’s collective agreement have been going on for over a year. The uncertainty caused by this long delay and the recurrence of labor disputes are affecting the Québec and Canadian economies, and Canada’s reputation as a reliable and resilient trading partner. 

“A significant drop in cargo at the port of Montréal, a result of this uncertainty, also poses serious financial challenges for the MEA.”  

It added: “Our priority remains the signing of a negotiated collective agreement as soon as possible, in order to work on bringing the cargo back to the port.”