Longshore workers at the Port of Montreal, Canada’s second largest, ended a three-day strike Thursday morning that paralyzed 40% of container traffic, without having reached an agreement with their employer.
“The three-day strike is over,” Isabelle Pelletier, spokesperson for the Association of Maritime Employers (AEM), told AFP, adding that “no summons from the Federal Mediation Service” had been received for the moment to continue discussions.
For its part, the Longshoremen’s Union maintains that a summons was indeed sent to plan a meeting, but that the employer refused to take part.
“What is this employer playing at? He denounces the effect of a partial strike on the economy and the supply chain, but he does not deign to come to the negotiating table to find solutions. It’s astonishing!” declared Michel Murray, union advisor, in a press release published Wednesday.
This partial strike, which concerns 320 workers operating half of the port terminals, paralyzed 40% of the total container handling capacity “in a crucial period” linked to the end-of-year holidays, according to the port authority.
“In just three days, the impacts on our docks amount to more than 1,300 containers nailed to the ground, including food and medical products, more than 11,500 containers delayed,” said Renée Larouche, spokesperson for the Administration, on Thursday. Port of Montreal (APM).
Each day of strike puts at risk 91 million Canadian dollars (60 million euros) of economic activities, estimated the APM at the start of the strike, emphasizing that “6 billion dollars in value of goods had to transit through the Port of Montreal over the coming weeks.
Working hours that harm the quality of life of longshore workers and the number of senior foremen are at the center of the conflict, said the union, whose last meeting with the employer took place on September 26.
Longshore workers at the Port of Montreal have been without a collective agreement since December 31, 2023.
“The port of Montreal is essential to our supply chains,” Anita Anand, the Canadian Minister of Transport, declared on X earlier this week, calling on the parties to “return to the negotiating table.”
This strike comes as tens of thousands of American longshoremen also walked off the job this week, blocking goods at 36 ports on the East Coast and the Gulf of Mexico.
