Port of Montreal employers file final offer and give lockout notice

Employers at the Port of Montreal presented their “final and comprehensive” offer to dockworkers on Thursday.

If they refuse this proposal, they will call a lockout at 9 p.m. on Sunday.

According to the Maritime Employers Association (MEA), the most recent offer provides a salary increase of more than 20 per cent over six years, or 3 per cent per year for four years and 3.5 per cent for the following two years, including a retroaction for the beginning of 2024.

The union had already said it was prepared to accept the same wage increases that were granted to longshoremen at the ports of Vancouver and Halifax, which was 20 per cent over four years.

The MEA points out that under the proposed contract, the average overall compensation of a longshoreman would be more than $200,000 per year, and it would also apply to pensions and benefits.

In return, the MEA is asking its employees to give at least one hour’s notice before a shift to report an absence to “reduce absence management issues that significantly affect daily operations.”

Employers are demanding a response from the Syndicat des débardeurs du port de Montréal, a local of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), affiliated with the FTQ, by 8 p.m. Sunday evening.

If they refuse, they say they will call a lockout one hour later.

In the event of a lockout, “only essential services and activities not related to longshore operations will continue at the Port of Montreal,” said the MEA.

According to the employers, the current negotiation “have major consequences for businesses in Quebec and Canada,” since the value of goods transiting through the Port of Montreal reaches nearly $400 million per day – generating $268 million in economic activity.

The MEA says it remains “ready to collaborate on any initiative that the Labour Minister may propose with a view to reaching a satisfactory agreement between the parties as quickly as possible.”

Since Oct. 31, an unlimited partial strike by dockworkers has paralyzed two terminals at the Port of Montreal; Viau and Maisonneuve, which are operated by the Termont company.

In addition, the longshoremen have been refusing to work overtime since Oct. 10.

In mid-October, federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon proposed that the parties use a special mediator, but his offer fell through. Earlier this week, he confirmed that his offer was still on the table.

Negotiations to renew the collective agreement for 1,200 dockworkers have been ongoing for a year. The previous negotiation, in 2021, ended with a special law forcing the workers back to work.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews