Industry pressure mounts for government intervention in Montreal docker strikes

With an “indefinite” strike launched by 1,100 Montreal dockers now in its fourth day, pressure is mounting for the federal government to directly intervene in a lengthy waterfront labour conflict paralyzing Canada’s second biggest port after Vancouver. Although the Ottawa authorities rejected this demand earlier this week, observers consider that intervention remains likely soon should the crisis last much longer.

“We have faith in the collective bargaining process, as we know the best deals are made at the table,” Labour Minister Filomena Tassi declared. She and Transport Minister Marc Garneau urged the two parties to avoid further disruption by reaching a collective agreement to replace the one which expired on December 31, 2018.

The escalation of the conflict between the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) and the longshore union, CUPE Local 375, has provoked the diversion of containerships to such other east coast ports as Halifax, Saint John and New York, entailing delays and extra costs for both shippers and carriers. Hapag-Lloyd, Maersk, OOCL, and MSC are among the carriers that have re-routed vessels.

The current strike is the fourth work stoppage by dockers at Canada’s second biggest port since early July. Main targets have been the container terminals of Termont and Montreal Gateway Terminals Partnership, which handle the great bulk of Montreal’s container cargo surpassing 1.7 million TEUs and have made substantial investments in expanding capacity and infrastructure amidst record cargo volumes.

“Our government’s clear expectation is for both parties to work together to resolve their differences quickly,” Minister Tassi said. “We will be monitoring the situation closely, and looking into how to support the ongoing mediation efforts.”

The MEA expressed disappointment over the latest strike action. It had proposed a solution could reside in a truce – rejected by the union – that would result in binding arbitration if no agreement was reached after two months of talks.

The last major waterfront strife to hit Montreal was when employers locked out dockers for several days in July 2010, inducing carriers to use Halifax on a contingency basis.

In the past few weeks, various business groups have called on Ottawa to step in and force a resumption of port activities because the strike is “taking the economy hostage.”

In an interview with AJOT, Bob Ballantyne, President of the Freight Management Association of Canada, stated: “The growing uncertainty is really worrisome for both importers and exporters and for the image of stability at Canada’s second largest port. If the two sides cannot come to a settlement, the ripple effect on the Canadian economy will increase and the only fall-back could be for the federal government to step in with back-to-work legislation.”

The FMA’s members purchase C$4 billion annually in transportation services.

In a similar vein, CargoM, Montreal’s logistics and transportation cluster, warned: “This instability is a real threat to competitiveness with the large hubs on the US East Coast. More than 110 million consumers (Port of Montreal’s hinterland in North America) served by our supply chain are experiencing the negative consequences caused by this strike and these pressure tactics.”

The 14 domestic carriers belonging to St. Lawrence Shipoperators, who include Fednav, Canada Steamship Lines and Desgagnés Group, also warned that if the strike persists international shipping lines will turn to other ports along the East Coast. The industry group said a settlement was urgent to prevent further damage in the context of a global pandemic and severe economic downturn.

Since the previous collective agreement expired at the end of 2018, the longshore workers voted strongly in favour of a strike but the union held back, until recently, to pursue negotiations. In fact, the decision to take job action followed a ruling in June by the Canadian Industrial Relations Board denying the request of the MEA to designate port services as “essential services” that could not be interrupted by a strike or lockout.

Throughout the negotiations, scheduling and work conditions emerged as main stumbling blocks – with union leader Michael Murray constantly raising the issue of achieving a better balance between work and family life. The union objects to working conditions requiring dockers to be available 19 of 21 days (which reportedly has happened quite frequently due to rising demand from the container terminals). However, the maritime employers assert that dockers work an average of 14 days and just need to be on call for the remainder.