Longshoremen at the Port of Montreal will commence a second partial strike at 11:00 AM on Thursday, impacting key terminals and a significant portion of the port’s operations.

The Montréal Longshoremen’s Union, CUPE Local 375 (MLU), which represents 1,200 longshoremen, and the Maritime Employers Association (MEA), representing the port operators, have been in negotiations to renew the longshoremen’s collective agreement for over a year.

In the past month alone, the MLU has conducted a three-day strike, a one-day strike, and union members have stopped working overtime. Despite an attempt on October 18th by the Honourable Steven MacKinnon, Minister of Labour, to appoint a special mediator for a 90-day negotiation period without pressure tactics, the proposal was withdrawn due to lack of unanimous acceptance. Since October 10, the workers have refused overtime due to disputes over scheduling, work-life balance, and wages. The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service (FMCS) continues to assist in ongoing negotiations.

If you have questions, please reach out to your A.N. Deringer, Inc. representative. For further information, see this article regarding the strike.