Government action has put an end to strikes crippling operations at a Canadian port.
Operations at the Port of Montreal resumed on 2 May, following legislation passed by the Canadian Parliament to stop the industrial action.
“However, the re-establishment of operations and the return to a regular flow of goods will require several days of work by port workers and those involved in the logistics chain,” said the port. “About ten ships are heading for the Port of Montreal and nearly 20,000 TEU containers (twenty-foot equivalent units) are present in the port area due to recent work stoppages.”
The port added: “Customers waiting to import or export goods should therefore expect delays for the next few weeks.”
A full strike was put in place at the Port of Montreal on 26 April. Prior to this, a partial strike had been ongoing since 13 April. This resulted in nearly 10,000 TEU containers being delayed, according to the port. Industrial action plagued the port last year too.
The passing of BILL C-29 - An Act to provide for the resumption and continuation of operations at the Port of Montreal imposes mediation as the process for resolving matters remaining in dispute between the parties. It empowers the mediator-arbitrator to impose arbitration as the process for resolving matters that cannot be resolved through mediation. It also sets out the elements that are to be included in the new collective agreement between the parties.
Following the passing of the Bill, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) said the Montreal Longshore Workers’ Union (CUPE 375) has announced it plans to contest the legislation before the courts and that it had already filed a complaint with the International Labour Organization.
