The employer locked out the 1,200 longshore workers at the Port of Montreal on Sunday.
Dock workers at the Port of Montreal will have to return to work on Saturday, in accordance with an order from the Canada Industrial Relations Board (CIRB).
In its statement, the MEA says it hopes for the collaboration of the union and its members, the port authority and “all other partners in the supply chain to facilitate a return to normal activities at the Port of Montreal.”
Subsequently, federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon intervened on Tuesday to put an end to the two conflicts. He asked the CIRB to order the resumption of all operations and move both sets of negotiations to binding arbitration.
The local section of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), affiliated with the FTQ, represents nearly 1,200 longshore workers at the Port of Montreal, currently subject to a lockout that is freezing Canada’s second-largest port.
The union launched an indefinite strike on Oct. 31, affecting the Viau and Maisonneuve terminals of the Termont company. The company was targeted because it often uses a type of shift schedule that the workers have rallied against. The company counters that it has the right to act in this way under the collective agreement, itself expired on Dec. 31, 2023. The parties are already in mediation on the future collective agreement, without much progress. Hours, work-life balance and salaries are the sticking points.
This is the third labour dispute affecting the country’s supply chains this year, after those affecting rail and air transportation.
CUPE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.