July 20, 2010
The Maritime Employers Association chose to exercise its legal right according to the labour code and ordered a lockout at the Port of Montreal. This lockout will affect some 850 employees covered by the accreditation certificate held by the Longshoremen’s Union, CUPE Local 375.
The decision was made, the MEA said in a press release, because it was “faced with the union’s refusal to acknowledge the urgency of the matter as well as the need to radically amend the collective agreement between the Maritime Employers Association and the Port of Montreal’s longshoremen, and in order to avoid compromising port activities.”
The MEA is a non-profit organization representing member companies involved in shipping, which includes shipowners, operators and agents, stevedoring contractors and terminal operators. On behalf of its members, the association is mandated to negotiate and administrate collective agreements covering over 1,450 longshoremen in Hamilton, Toronto, Montreal and Trois Rivières-Bécancour.
The main issue is job and revenue security. “Considering existing market conditions,” the press release said, “the MEA can no longer accept such a large gap between the amount of hours worked and paid for by longshoremen and the amount of hours not worked but fully paid for.
“MEA’s management team believes that while this is not a desirable outcome, it had no other choice but to order a lockout, given that pressure tactics have begun to impede port operations.
“Consequently, all activities on terminals operated by MEA members will be interrupted as of 8 a.m., Monday, July 19, until further notice.
“The Port of Montreal’s activity and sustainability remain priorities and MEA’s management hopes that this situation will prompt union representatives to look more realistically at the challenges ahead for the maritime sector.”
Negotiations had been held with the union on July 15 and July 16 in the presence of a mediator appointed by the government. The MEA decided to withdraw job security from some longshoremen on June 23, which triggered pressure tactics from union workers. The collective agreement expired in December 2008.
Unaffected by the lockout was the port’s grain terminal, which is operated by the Montreal Port Authority. According to the Montreal Gazette, ships are already been rerouted to New York and Norfolk, VA.
CUPE’s reaction
CUPE, the largest longshoremen’s union in Quebec, held a press conference on July 19. According to the Montreal Gazette, Daniel Tremblay, president of CUPE Local 375, said that cargo ships diverted from Montreal to ports along the eastern seaboard will not be unloaded as long as his members are locked out. He indicated he had spoken to union officials in the ports of Halifax, New York and Norfolk, VA.
The Port of Montreal longshoremen view the lockout by the MEA as “incomprehensible and pointless,” said the July 19 news release issued by CUPE. Sunday night, they were in the midst of a general meeting to cancel pressure tactics. As of July 9, the longshoremen had refused to work overtime.
"We wanted to demonstrate that our 169 colleagues are essential,” said union representative Michel Murray in the release. “The employer had to reinstate them to cover the overtime.
"The best way to disrupt the functioning of the port is to lock up and send the workers packing,” he said. “The solution is for the employer to let the work continue in the port and at the negotiating table and, in the next few weeks, we’ll have an agreement."
Longshoremen are guaranteed a 40-hour work week and earn $80,000 to $100,000 annually. That annual cost of about $5 million to $7 million is covered by fees paid by the shipping lines, Mr. Murray said at the press conference.
The longshoremen at the ports of Montreal, Quebec City, Matane, Contrecoeur, Sorel-Tracy, Trois-Rivières and Bécancour are affiliated with CUPE.