News / Ottawa proposes new mediator to break deadlock in Montreal port labour talks

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Canada’s labour minister, Steve McKinnon, is trying to breathe new life into the stalled contract negotiations between Montreal dockworkers and the Maritime Employers Association (MEA), suggesting the appointment of a special mediator to hammer out an agreement.

In a social media post, the minister said the two sides had until tomorrow accept or reject the offer of a 90-day mediation, with no strikes or lock-outs during the talks.

The 1,200 dock workers represented by Longshoremen’s Union Local 375, an affiliate of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, ended a three-day strike at the port’s Viau and Maisonneuve terminals, which handle over 40% of the port’s container traffic, on 3 October.

But they have started an indefinite ban on overtime to keep the pressure on the MEA, which warned that this could paralyse cargo flow through the port.

On its website, it stated: “The MEA believes the systematic refusal of overtime will have significant repercussions on the port’s activities — even to the point of stopping operations — and, by extension, on businesses, industries and the public.”

But one forwarder described this as “alarmist”, claiming this was part of a ritual process of calling for renewed efforts to break the deadlock, adding: “There will be delays, but the carriers will not be hurt. They can make money in situations like this by raising their charges,” he said.

Cargo owners seem unfazed too. Karl-Heinz Legler, general manager of Rutherford Global Logistics, said: “Cargo owners had a whole year of alarm bells. They’ve been constantly faced with labour unrest. By now, after three or four of these labour incidents, they’re becoming more blasé.”

The suspension of the port strike on the US east coast has also eased concerns about cargo to Montreal getting stuck.

And f forwarders this is a welcome relief.

“With the US strike, shippers were looking frantically for solutions,” Mr Legler said. “We worked to assist our people in the US to route cargo through Halifax and other alternatives, which creates a lot of extra work.”