More and more stevedores at the Port of Montreal benefiting from job security are being paid even if they are not “working” due to the drop in container volume, their employer complains. The Maritime Employers’ Association (MEA) blames the situation on uncertainty in union negotiations and is asking a federal court to order a bargaining blitz.
The Association addresses several criticisms to the Union of Longshoremen of the Port of Montreal, affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), in its application recently filed with the Canadian Industrial Relations Board (CIRB). The employer accuses the union party – which represents some 1,100 longshoremen – of showing “bad faith” by refusing to make itself available to negotiate.
After a series of meetings since last September, there have been no talks since January 16, underlines the AEM. The employer accuses the union of dragging things out, which fuels instability and causes “cargo ships to flee from the port of Montreal.”
What is the Maritime Employers Association?
It is the employer of the longshoremen, who load and unload the ships. The AEM negotiates and administers the employment contracts of its members in Montreal, Contrecœur, Trois-Rivières, Bécancour, Hamilton and Toronto.
“Already, shipping companies have canceled ship departures to Montreal,” write the Association’s lawyers, without going so far as to name company names. “The impasse in the negotiations due to the actions of the union is therefore at the origin of the situation which is worsening day by day. »
Guest by The Press to respond to the content of the employer’s request, Monday, the union indicated, by email, that it “will not make any comments.” The collective agreement expired on December 31. The AEM wanted the CCRI to summon the union and the management party to its Montreal offices this Tuesday for an intensive 48-hour negotiation session. At the time of writing, the Council had not made its decision.
Tense
The last walkout at the port of Montreal ended in spring 2021 with the adoption of special legislation by Ottawa. Labor relations remained tense, and federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez is aware of this. Passing by the Eastern Montreal Chamber of Commerce, he spoke of a “climate of mistrust” between the AEM and the longshoremen.
“Honestly, I haven’t seen this anywhere else,” he said, when questioned on the subject. There is a fundamental problem that will have to be resolved. During the years of quote-unquote peace that we will have, after the negotiations, we will have to rework the relationship a lot. »
The Montreal Port Authority (MPA) shares the minister’s concerns. Its spokesperson, Renée Larouche, affirms that the federal agency “fervently desires a constructive dialogue which leads to a lasting and mutually beneficial agreement”.
Single clause
In Canadian ports, Montreal longshoremen are the only ones to benefit from job security, a mechanism which guarantees them a salary even if they do not work when the volume of cargo is insufficient. The bill is starting to be steep, argues the AEM, since the volume of containers is no longer there.
“The situation that currently prevails is therefore one where the Association pays the longshoremen, who are not working due to the fact that the union, through its actions, is causing cargo to flee the port of Montreal,” we read in the motion. The Association is therefore faced with an untenable situation, where it suffers considerable expenses, without the possibility of income to pay them. »
Last September, The Press reported that managers in the maritime industry were already thinking of alternative solutions to transit goods elsewhere on the coast, in the event of a new strike at Montreal port facilities. The port of Vancouver – the largest in the country – was paralyzed by a walkout for 13 days last July.
In its request, the AEM essentially attributes the drop in volumes at the Port of Montreal to the uncertainty caused by the renewal of the longshoremen’s collective agreement. The economic slowdown also weighs in the balance. In 2023, the Port of Montreal saw an 8.9% decline in container volumes, a result that the federal agency explained by a decrease in imports. This trend continued during the first two months of the year, where the decline was 6.3%.
“The current absence of a collective agreement in the port [de Montréal] is concerning,” says Brian Slack, professor emeritus at Concordia University and maritime transportation specialist. “Shipping companies need stability and do not want to face costly disruptions. »
The Port of Montreal is not the only one facing setbacks in the container sector. Vancouver (- 6% in 2023) and Halifax (- 8.7% after three quarters in 2023) have not escaped this. Unlike Montreal, these two locations show an increase in volumes taking into account all other sectors – liquid bulk and solid bulk.
Ottawa offers 17 million for rail capacity
Ottawa is extending 17 million to increase rail capacity at the Port of Montreal, by adding a fourth track on the Pie-IX railway bridge. The investment should make it possible to reduce the number of heavy vehicles circulating on the site. “We are increasing the fluidity of goods transport while fighting the climate crisis,” argued Monday the Minister of Transport, Pablo Rodriguez, announcing the news in front of an audience of business people, at the invitation of the Eastern Montreal Chamber of Commerce (CCEM). All this will help support Sucre Lantic in its expansion and “bring their sugar more easily to Ontario,” explained the minister.
Learn more
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- 140
- Number of auditors from the Port of Montreal who reached an agreement with the AEM last February to renew their collective agreement.
maritime employers association