The appeal launched yesterday by the Quebec business community, which invited Ottawa to intervene to allow the rapid resumption of activities at the Port of Montreal, did not produce the expected results.
• Read also: The business community wants a forced return of longshoremen
• Read also: Strike at the Port of Montreal: boats forced to wait on the river
Federal Labor Minister Filomena Tassi says “is monitoring the situation closely”, but without any clear intention, for the moment, to interfere in the ongoing negotiation process.
In a written statement released Monday evening, Minister Tassi recalls that her government continues to support the collective bargaining process. “As we all know,” she says, “the best deals come at the bargaining table.”
Negotiations that stretch
After two weeks of great disruption, the Union des longshoremen du Port de Montréal, local 375 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), yesterday launched an indefinite general strike.
The longshoremen have been without an employment contract since 2018. Negotiations with the Association of Maritime Employers (AEM) are particularly stumbling over the organization of working hours. Since the fall of 2018, more than sixty negotiation sessions have taken place, without the parties reaching an agreement.
Harmful to the economy
The minister assures us that the government of Justin Trudeau understands the importance of the Port of Montreal and its workers for the Canadian economy. She recalls having, with her colleague from Transport, Marc Garneau, contacted the two parties to inform them of their expectations.
“It is by reaching a negotiated agreement between the two parties that the port will be able to resume its normal functioning. Anything that delays the negotiation process is disappointing and harmful to both the local and national economy. […] We will be monitoring the situation closely and will continue to assess how to support the ongoing mediation efforts. ”
Yesterday, a group of representatives from the business community called for greater intervention by the federal government in the current negotiations. This group was made up of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, the Quebec Employers Council, Quebec Manufacturers and Exporters, the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses and the Quebec Federation of Chambers of Commerce.
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