The employer and Unifor will resume negotiations to try to resolve the impasse that is paralyzing the St. Lawrence Seaway. However, you will have to wait until Friday before attending this session which will take place in the presence of a mediator.
This meeting will take place in Toronto, it was announced on Tuesday, on the third day of the walkout which paralyzes the network of locks which connects the lower St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes.
“Unifor will comply with the call for mediation and will continue to support its members on the picket line during talks,” said the union, which represents the approximately 360 striking Seaway Management Corporation employees. of the Saint Lawrence (CGVMSL).
Wages are at the heart of the impasse in this conflict.
According to the CGVMSL, the parties individually met with Labor Minister Seamus O’Regan as well as his colleague Pablo Rodriguez (Transport). Ottawa encouraged the employer and the union to “come back to the table”. The strike comes about two months before the Seaway closes for the winter season.
In a letter sent to MM. O’Regan and Rodriguez, on Tuesday, the St. Lawrence Shipowners, the Shipping Federation of Canada, the St. Lawrence Economic Development Corporation and the Ontario Maritime Council urge the Trudeau government to intervene to “resolve the situation “.
“The Seaway is the pivot of our Canadian and American supply chains, guaranteeing vital fluidity,” argue the signatories of the missive.