Partial strike of Port of Montreal longshore workers: court rejects employers’ request

The Federal Labor Court has once again rejected the request of the Maritime Employers’ Association (AEM) seeking to have the partial strike of dock workers at the Port of Montreal affecting the Termont company declared illegal.

The Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) ruled based on the “principle of res judicata,” since it had already ruled on the previous partial strike affecting the same two Termont terminals.

“The CIRB decided on an almost identical request after hearing the parties on September 29,” the relations board wrote.

The only difference is that this time the partial strike is unlimited, whereas it lasted three days in September.

“The union is therefore entitled to exercise the right to strike, even partially, without violating its obligation to negotiate in good faith,” the ruling stated.

“The fact that the AEM does not accept the decision taken by the CIRB cannot constitute a valid reason for resuming the debate in the context of a new request, when the facts supporting the request are for all practical purposes identical.”

The CIRB said the AEM even filed a request for review of the decision, as well as a request for judicial review to the Federal Court of Appeal.

The relations board said hearings are already scheduled for mid-November to hear these same parties concerning two other requests for declaration of illegal strike presented by the Maritime Employers’ Association.

After having mentioned all these legal steps by the AEM against the union, the CIRB concluded its decision by writing that “the parties would have an interest in putting all their efforts and resources into the collective bargaining process in order to find lasting solutions to conclude a new collective agreement as quickly as possible.”

The local section of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), affiliated with the FTQ, which represents the 1,200 longshore workers at the Port of Montreal, launched this indefinite strike on Oct. 31. It only affects the Viau and Maisonneuve terminals of the Termont company, representing a potential of 320 of the 1,200 workers.

Since Oct. 10, longshore workers have refused to work overtime.

The Termont company is one targeted because it often uses a type of “shift schedule” against which the longshore workers protest. The company counters that it has the right to do so under the collective agreement.

Moreover, in its request to the CIRB, the Maritime Employers’ Association argued that by targeting only one port employer, the union is circumventing the negotiation structure. “The union is therefore attacking a single employer member to try to obtain gains that it must negotiate with the AEM,” argued the association.

The AEM also criticized the union for specifically targeting Termont which is managed by the president of the board of directors of the Association of Maritime Employers “and that in doing so it is acting in bad faith.”

The union said it was ready not to launch this indefinite strike affecting Termont if there was an agreement between the parties regarding the use of these shift schedules.

The collective agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2023. The parties are already in mediation, without much progress. Hours, work-life balance and salaries are in dispute.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews