Port of Montreal longshoremen will contest binding arbitration request

The union representing dock workers at the Port of Montreal will challenge in court the decision of the federal Minister of Labor to end the lockout imposed by employers by submitting the conflict to binding arbitration.

The move comes as the union representing locked out port workers in British Columbia also announced plans to challenge the federal government’s decision.

The Maritime Employers’ Association locked out 1,200 longshore workers at the Port of Montreal on Sunday evening after union members voted to reject what employers called their final and comprehensive offer.

The work stoppage came as British Columbia port workers were also locked out since last week in a dispute involving more than 700 supervisors, halting the flow of containers. in West Coast terminals.

Federal Labor Minister Steven MacKinnon intervened Tuesday to end the two disputes. He asked the Canada Industrial Relations Board to order the resumption of all operations and move both rounds of negotiations to binding arbitration.

Another union, Teamsters Canada, is contesting Ottawa’s use of the same mechanism to end the work stoppage that occurred earlier this year at the country’s two largest railway companies.