Nearly 10,000 TEU containers are delayed at a Canadian port battling strikes.
A full strike has been in place at the Port of Montreal since 26 April. A partial strike at the Port of Montreal has been ongoing since 13 April, involving longshore workers not working overtime or extending their shifts beyond eight hours. From 17 April, workers also begin striking on Saturday and Sunday indefinitely. Due to the weekend industrial action, no work has taken place since Friday 23 April.
“Currently, a partial strike in progress and a general strike notice of indefinite duration transmitted by the Union have resulted in a complete cessation of cargo handling operations since last Friday,” said the port on 25 April. “Port of Montreal customers should expect delays in the delivery of their goods for the next few days, and even weeks.”
The port added there is “nearly 10,000 TEU containers pinned to the ground, an accumulation and delays in rail convoys” with added knock-on effects for ships.
The federal government is currently working on legislation to end the strike.
Strike action in summer 2020 saw 80,000 TEU containers delayed at the port or diverted and around twenty ships diverted to competing ports.
A recent economic study estimates that a prolonged disruption of port activities represents a loss of CAD$10m to CAD$25m per day for the economy, said the port. It noted diversion has been a growing trend due to the operational uncertainty associated with the labour dispute.
