Montreal dockworkers reject deal with lockout to begin

Shipping containers are moved in the Port of Montreal on Sept. 30, 2024 (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi)

The union representing some 1,200 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal has overwhelmingly rejected a deal with their employers association, and a lockout at the facility is underway.

A spokesman for the Canadian Union of Public Employees says members voted 99.7 per cent to reject the latest offer.

"The hostile offer was rejected because the employer refused to negotiate," said Michel Murray, union advisor with CUPE, in a statement late Sunday. "Nothing in the offer reflects the union's demands."

He added if the employer had respected the collective bargaining process, a conflict would have been avoided at the port.

Workers have been without a collective agreement since Dec. 31, 2023.

The Maritime Employers Association said in its own statement that it "deplores the negative outcome of the vote" and has no choice but to declare a lockout.

As a result, the employer said dockworkers are locked out as of 9 p.m. Sunday with only essential services and activities unrelated to dockworkers continuing at the port.

It called for the federal labour minister, Steve MacKinnon, to intervene in the dispute to limit the hit to the country's economy.

"A number of economic and maritime players across the country have made the same request in recent weeks to get things moving. Like the MEA, they all want this dispute to be resolved so that Quebec and Canadian businesses can no longer be held hostage and rely on predictable and uninterrupted operations at the Port of Montreal," the association said.

Workers are now locked out at the country's two largest ports. Port workers in British Columbia have been locked out since Monday in an ongoing contract dispute at the Port of Vancouver, the largest in Canada.

The Port of Montreal, Canada's second-biggest port, moves nearly $400 million in goods every day. The Port of Montreal said three terminals would remain operational in the event of a lockout: the Bickerdike terminal, liquid bulk terminals and the grain terminal.

The Maritime Employers Association tabled on Thursday evening what it described as a "final, comprehensive offer," and called on the union to reply by 8 p.m. Sunday whether it would accept the six-year pact. The offer came with a 72-hour lockout notice.

The employer said last week the offer included a three-per-cent salary increase each year for four years and a 3.5-per-cent increase for the two subsequent years.

The increases would bring a longshore worker's total average compensation at the Port of Montreal to more than $200,000 per year at the end of the contract.

The association added that it is asking longshore workers to provide at least one hour's notice when they will be absent from a shift -- instead of one minute -- to help reduce management issues "which have a major effect on daily operations."

On Friday, a union official said the new offer contained just "cosmetic changes" and doesn't address issues about scheduling, a major flashpoint in talks.

The union had said it had no issue submitting the latest offer to a vote, but added it was unlikely to be supported as members have already rejected two similar offers by secret ballot.

The union has said it will accept the same increases that were granted to its counterparts in Halifax and Vancouver -- 20 per cent over four years. It is also concerned with scheduling and work-life balance.

On Friday morning, the union and employers association spent two hours with a federal mediator without making any progress.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2024