Container ships will be able to start docking at the Port of Montreal again starting Saturday. At the request of the Trudeau government, an administrative tribunal is forcing a return to work for 1,200 Montreal longshoremen, who have been locked out since Sunday evening.
Posted at 7:11 p.m.
At the end of a day of hearings on Thursday, the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB) issued a decision that implements the request made Tuesday by federal Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon, who imposed binding arbitration.
The Union of Longshoremen of the Port of Montreal, affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), tried, in vain, to convince the administrative tribunal not to comply with Ottawa’s request.
“In the present case, it [le CCRI] does not have the discretionary power to refuse to implement the minister’s directive, we can read in the four-page decision. The Council is therefore of the opinion that it must implement the Minister’s directive. »
In the case of the Port of Montreal, activities must resume on Saturday.
Like what happened last August when the two main railways were at a standstill, Mr. MacKinnon turned to section 107 of the Canada Labor Code, which gives him the right to ask the CCRI to take the necessary measures to promote good understanding in the world of work.
PHOTO SEAN KILPATRICK, CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES
Steven MacKinnon, Federal Minister of Labor
This measure also affects the ports of Quebec and British Columbia, where activities were also paralyzed. In Western Canada, port activity resumed on Thursday, following a decision rendered the day before by the Council.
Since when have the ports been shut down?
- Montreal: On indefinite partial strike (Termont terminals) since October 31. A lockout was imposed on 1,200 longshoremen on Sunday evening.
- Quebec: Locked out since September 15, 2022.
- British Columbia: Some 700 foremen and longshoremen have been locked out since November 4.
At the time of writing these lines, Thursday evening, the Montreal Port Longshoremen’s Union had not reacted to the Council’s order.
This outcome regarding port workers is hardly surprising. By forcing some 9,500 workers from the country’s two major railways to return to work, the CCRI also stressed that it had to comply with the demands of the federal Minister of Labor.
“Given the clear wording of article 107 of the Code [canadien du travail]the Council concluded that it does not have the discretionary power or the capacity to refuse to implement, in whole or in part, the directives of the Minister or to modify their terms”, explained the Council, in its decision rendered on August 24.
Binding arbitration means that existing collective agreements will be extended until new working conditions are imposed following binding arbitration.
At the port of Montreal, the second largest in the country, some 1,200 longshoremen have been locked out since Sunday evening. The decision was taken by their employer, the Association of Maritime Employers (AEM). Working hours and job security are among the many points in dispute between the union and the employer for several years.
The Maritime Employers Association in brief
It is the employer of the longshoremen, who load and unload the ships. The Association negotiates and administers the employment contracts of its members in Montreal, Contrecœur, Trois-Rivières, Bécancour, Hamilton and Toronto. It counts terminal operators and shipping companies among its members.
Following the Trudeau government’s intervention last August, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents the 9,500 CN and CPKC employees, decided to challenge the decision before the Federal Court. Following the Trudeau government’s intervention last August, the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, which represents the 9,500 CN and CPKC employees, decided to challenge the decision before the Federal Court.
Since 2015, the right to strike has benefited from constitutional protection following the Saskatchewan decision of the Supreme Court of Canada.
