Members of the CUPE longshoremen’s union at the Port of Montreal rejected by 99.7% on Sunday the final employer offer that was sent to them last Thursday.
• Also read: Strikes at the Port of Montreal: the employer submits a new offer to longshoremen
“The hostile offer was rejected because the employer refused to negotiate. Nothing in the offer reflects the union’s demands. If the AEM had respected the collective bargaining processes, we would have found solutions and we would have avoided a conflict at the port of Montreal,” indicated Michel Murray, union advisor at CUPE, in a press release published Sunday evening.
A lockout from 9 p.m. is therefore imminent since the Maritime Employers’ Association indicated last week that a lockout would be triggered on Sunday evening if no agreement was reached between the parties.
This labor conflict has been raging for several months and has already given rise to several days of strikes by employees.
It is in this context that the employer submitted its ultimatum to the union last Thursday.
“The AEM informed the Union that in the absence of an agreement on the offer submitted, and due to its actions, only essential services and activities that are not related to longshoring will continue at the Port of Montreal at starting Sunday, November 10 at 9 p.m.,” we indicate in a press release.
For its part, the union deplores that this final offer was not negotiated with them and that it does not meet their demands.
The salary increases proposed by the employer are 3% per year over four years and 3.5% for the following two years.
The union, for its part, demanded a 20% increase over four years as well as flexibility in terms of working hours.
Two terminals are already closed because of an indefinite general strike by certain longshoremen.
A lockout could have significant repercussions.
“The economic impacts are estimated at $90 million for Quebec per day of strike,” indicates the vice-president of public affairs of the Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters association, Julie White.
“We are very worried,” she adds. “Depending on the port, it can take up to seven days per conflict day like that [pour rattraper le temps perdu]. Not only are these economic impacts, but they are also additional delays.”
A lockout has also been in progress for a week at the Port of Vancouver.
If the forced labor stoppage also materializes at the port of Montreal, the Canadian economy would be greatly affected.
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