Negotiations between the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) and Local 375 of the Canadian Public Employees (CUPE) representing 1,100 Montreal dockers for a four-year collective agreement have failed to break a deadlock prior to the expiration of the existing pact on December 31.
But no strike or lockout scenario has immediately surfaced as the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) reviews a recent application by the MEA to have some longshore services declared “essential services” under a section of the Canada Labour Code.
Docker strikes hit the Montreal waterfront in the summer of 2020 and spring of 2021, causing major supply chain disruptions. The latter industrial action resulted in back-to-work federal legislation.
Under the Canada Labour Code, federally-regulated employers can apply to the CIRB to require work to continue during a stoppage if it’s deemed necessary to “prevent an immediate and serious danger to the safety or health of the public.”
The negotiations had barely started last September before the union asked the federal government to appoint a mediator – an early sign of conflicting demands.
According to reports that have filtered out, high up on the wish list of the docker union is a 20% hike in wages over four years as well as permanent job security after three years. Among other matters, the MEA is reportedly seeking greater operational flexibility and adjustments on the number of workers benefiting from guaranteed job security.
(Port of Montreal photo)
