While the port of Montreal has just experienced six days of paralysis due to a conflict between the Association of Maritime Employers (AEM) and the workers’ unions, we are hearing a lot about the salaries of longshoremen.
The job of longshoremen, basically, is to ensure the transfer of cargoes of goods arriving by trucks or trains to the port storage terminals then to ships, and vice versa.
On social media, I have seen several outraged reactions from people claiming that longshoremen earn too well for their demands to be legitimate. So, I asked myself: is their situation that enviable?
I tried to get in touch with dock workers at the port of Montreal, but the tense circumstances mean that they don’t really want to talk to the media. On the other hand, a longshoreman who works at the port of Trois-Rivières agreed to talk to me about his work. He has the same employer as his colleagues in Montreal, but some aspects differ in their working conditions. For example, Montreal longshoremen have a salary guarantee, but are obliged to be available for 19 days in periods of 21 days, while their colleagues in Trois-Rivières have no guarantee concerning their income, but no obligation regarding to their availability, either.
To avoid exposing himself to potential reprisals from the AEM, my interlocutor will remain anonymous. So we will call him Samuel.
Amounts that make you dizzy
“Indeed, we are lucky to make a good salary,” Samuel admits straight away.
His base hourly rate is $33.44 per hour. This amount is increased at time and a half ($50.16 per hour) for evening shifts, regardless of the time at which he begins work. For example, if it starts at 2 p.m. and ends at 6 p.m., the evening rate will be taken into account for the entire work period. At night and on weekends, he is paid double time ($66.88 per hour).
To make it clearer, I made a little table for you:
| Monday to Friday | Saturday and Sunday | |
| Day (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) | $33.44 per hour | $66.88 per hour |
| Evening (4 p.m. to midnight) | $50.16 per hour | $66.88 per hour |
| Night (midnight to 8 a.m.) | $66.88 per hour | $66.88 per hour |
Longshore workers also see their current rate (basic, evening, night or weekend) doubled if they work during meal times or with dangerous products. A longshoreman can therefore receive remuneration of $133.76 per hour for work done during supper hours on the weekend, which is equivalent to 8.5 times the minimum wage. At this hourly rate, 8.5 hours of work allows us to reach the amount of average weekly remuneration in Quebec in 2023, which amounted to $1,151.56.
Samuel specifies, however, that “having a quarter with these conditions is like winning the lottery because it’s so rare.” Furthermore, in these situations, working time is calculated by quarters of an hour and no longer by the hour, longshoremen can therefore only work 15 or 30 minutes at this rate.
In 2024, Samuel estimates that his annual salary will amount to approximately $110,000, or more than two and a half times the average salary in Quebec, which stood at $41,600 in 2021.
“We have a certain privilege, and many people only focus on this aspect, without seeing the rest,” Samuel explains to me.
Indeed, to achieve such a salary, he must accumulate many hours of work. “In our field, a 60-hour week is a short week. We are pushed to work 80 hours, or even more. » In addition, longshoremen may also be called upon to attach and detach boats, which adds to their usual workload.
An impossible work-family balance
“Because of the lack of staff, we are often called upon to work 16-hour days for five, six or seven days in a row,” says Samuel. “We can do day, evening and night shifts in just two days, and do that twice in the same week. »
The longshoreman adds that he never knows in advance how many hours he will work in a day, because his status requires him to stay on site until a boat is completely empty. “The majority of my shifts end up being extended. »
“8-hour days therefore become 12-hour days. »
These working conditions obviously have a significant impact on the personal lives of workers, particularly those who have children. “It’s difficult to manage a babysitter without knowing when you’ll be back home. »
A life on call
“I receive my schedule in the evening at 6 p.m.,” explains Samuel. And if I didn’t get an assignment, another schedule comes out the next morning at 10 a.m. » Samuel must therefore be constantly available, especially since shifts that start at midnight can be announced at 9 p.m.
Added to the uncertainty of schedules is that of the job itself.
Indeed, longshoremen may also not work for several days, or even several weeks, during off-peak periods, and without any compensation. Accepting all the hours offered therefore allows them to guarantee an income in anticipation of weeks without work.
Furthermore, the AEM seniority system is based on the number of hours worked. To hope to obtain the best paid and least physically strenuous shifts, it is therefore preferable not to be too selective and to maximize the number of hours accumulated.
Between super busy weeks, uncertain schedules, the risk of injury or burn-out or even divorces, the life of longshoremen is not always rosy. “How do you organize a dinner or have hobbies when you don’t have a pre-established schedule? It’s really difficult to have a fulfilling social life,” confides Samuel.
The grueling working conditions push a large number of them to leave the profession. Samuel also estimates that 90% of the employees hired this year will no longer be there next year because of these difficulties.
