Montreal port employers threaten shutdown over labour dispute

Port of Montreal terminal operators have threatened to shut down most operations as of Sunday after providing a final offer to the longshore union.
The total shutdown would further slow Canadian imports and exports at a time the Port of Montreal is already operating at partial capacity and as West Coast ports are stopped due to a separate dispute, Reuters reports.

If the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 375 does not accept the offer by Sunday at 8:00 p.m. (0100 GMT), "only essential services and activities unrelated to longshoring will continue at the Port of Montreal from 9 p.m. on Sunday," the Maritime Employers Association said in a statement on Thursday.

So far, two terminals operated by Termont, representing about 40% of Montreal's container traffic and 15% of total port volume, have been shut down by the union's strike, which began on Oct. 31.

If the operators' offer is not accepted, all longshoring at the port would be locked out, the association said. Longshore workers transfer cargo from ships to trucks and trains and move cargo around on docks.

West Coast ports, including Canada's largest port of Vancouver, have been mostly shut down since Monday due to a labor dispute, impacting exports of canola oil and forest products. Bulk grain exports are not affected.

The British Columbia Maritime Employers Association said in a statement on Thursday evening that it is scheduled to meet with International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 representatives with the assistance of the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service on Saturday afternoon.

Federal Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon has said both sides have a responsibility to reach an agreement. On Thursday, he criticized the lack of apparent progress at both ports.