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MONTREAL — The clock is ticking on a threat by the employers association at the Port of Montreal to lockout some 1,200 dockworkers if their union doesn’t agree to a deal Sunday on what it calls a final contract offer.
A spokeswoman for the Canadian Union of Public Employees said members were voting on the latest offer between noon and 6 p.m. Sunday and results will be released after that.
Dockworkers will be locked out at 9 p.m. Sunday if a deal isn’t reached, and only essential services and activities unrelated to dockworkers will continue at the port after the deadline.
If it comes to pass, workers will be 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.
“This new stage of the conflict amplifies the already significant list of commercial and human affects thousands of Quebec and Canadian businesses, our economy, and on the supply of goods for of millions of people in Quebec and Canada,” the Port of Montreal said in a statement. last week.
The employer 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 will accept the six-year pact. The offer came with a 72-hour lockout notice.
The Maritime Employers Association said last week its new offer includes 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 Syndicat des débardeurs du port de Montréal 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 or 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.
Workers have been without a collective agreement since Dec. 31, 2023.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2024.
Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
