Port of Montreal: Repercussions of partial strike by dockworkers being felt

The three-day partial strike by dockworkers at the Port of Montreal is already having repercussions.

The Montreal Port Authority “has noticed an accumulation of containers on the ground, including temperature-controlled containers of food, pharmaceutical and medical products,” it said Tuesday after one strike day.

Approximately 320 of the 1,300 dockworkers who are members of a local section of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, affiliated with the FTQ, are walking out for three days, from Monday morning to Thursday morning, affecting the Termont’s Viau and Maisonneuve terminals.

“The current work stoppage at the Viau and Maisonneuve terminals is paralyzing 40 per cent of total container handling capacity,” reports the Port of Montreal.

The partial strike comes amid tensions between the Maritime Employers Association and the union, as the employers’ association tried in vain to prevent the work stoppage by going to court on Sunday.

But already, after just one day of partial strike, the Montreal Port Authority — which is not the employer negotiating with the union — is reporting 11,549 delayed cargo containers, 1,300 containers of various goods on the ground and five ships on standby.

“This situation deprives our customers and partners of 40 per cent of the St. Lawrence’s container handling capacity during a crucial period, when goods intended for the holiday season, both import and export, must transit through the Port of Montreal,” the Port Authority pointed out.

Furthermore, the Port of Montreal has not yet recorded an increase in traffic or expected traffic, despite the strike affecting around 30 ports on the American east coast.

This strike in the U.S. had already been scheduled for several days and companies could have chosen Montreal as an alternative solution. The Port of Montreal is the largest port in eastern Canada.

At a press conference last Friday, the union said that if there was any uncertainty, it was the employers who caused it.

Negotiations have been ongoing for about a year. Federal Transport Minister Anita Anand and Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon have said they are monitoring the situation closely and have invited the parties to return to the table to negotiate.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews