Port of Montreal: Employer to suspend seafarers’ ‘wage guarantee’

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The Association des employeurs maritimes (AEM) announced Saturday morning that it will suspend the “wage guarantee” of stevedores at the Port of Montreal, who will be off the job at 7 a.m. on Nov. 5, except for bulk stevedores. sector and essential services.

In a statement, the maritime employers’ association said “this is a mitigation measure aimed at reducing the cumulative financial impact of repeated strikes and reduced volume at the Port of Montreal.”

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The employer is criticizing the Port of Montreal Longshoremen’s Union (CUPE, Local 375) for “deciding to undertake an indefinite strike on October 31 that directly blocks two terminals and the processing of 40 percent of the containers delivered to the port.

The association said it informed the union on Saturday morning of its decision which will affect designated container handlers who will not be at work.

“Currently dockworkers at the Port of Montreal who are on standby but not working due to lack of volume are receiving their full wages each week,” AEM said in the statement.

The association proposed to the union earlier this week that it undertake a period of accelerated negotiations, with the support of a special mediator appointed by the federal labor minister, with the objective of concluding a new collective agreement.

In mid-October, Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon suggested the parties use a special mediator, drawn from outside the civil service, to try to resolve the dispute. This would have required both parties to refrain from any pressure tactics for 90 days.

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The dispute mainly concerns working hours, work-life balance and wages.

The union said it was ready to accept wage increases that have been given to longshore workers in the ports of Vancouver and Halifax, for example 20 per cent over four years.

On Thursday, about 320 of the 1,200 liquidators at the Port of Montreal walked off the job at the two terminals.

This company was already hit by a partial strike by downloaders that lasted three days in early October.

In addition, all peasants refused to work overtime from October 10. They also staged a 24-hour strike on October 27.

“From 2022, volumes are down at the Port of Montreal and AEM revenues are down by about 40%. In this context, the actions initiated by the union force AEM to take difficult but necessary decisions to mitigate the financial impact of pressure tactics on the organization,” the association wrote in its statement.

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