Montreal port strike ends, but tensions linger over prolonged strike in U.S.
CBC
The union representing Montreal dockworkers has ended a three-day strike at two terminals as scheduled, but the potential remains for more job action and jammed supply chains in the coming weeks.
The Maritime Employers Association confirmed the work stoppage came to an end at 7 a.m. ET at the Viau and Maisonneuve terminals, which handle more than 40 per cent of container traffic at the country's second-largest port.
The two sides have not met all week, with the union claiming the employers refused a sit-down convened by federal mediators on Thursday.
"What is this employer up to? It denounces the effect of a partial strike on the economy and on the supply chain, but it doesn't deign to come to the negotiating table to find solutions. It's mind-boggling," said Michel Murray, a spokesman for the union local, affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees.
The employers' association, which represents shipping companies and terminal operators, said in fact there was no meeting scheduled and its aim remains a collective agreement hammered out through negotiations.
The Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service did not answer questions on whether meetings were scheduled or cancelled.
"At this time, we can confirm the mediators remain in contact with the parties and are continuing work to assist them in their negotiations," said spokeswoman Samuelle Carbonneau in an email.
"Clearly, the current mediation process is no longer producing results," said employer spokeswoman Isabelle Pelletier in a statement Wednesday. Over the summer, two months passed after employers submitted a contract offer before the union responded, she said.
"We are currently evaluating all the options available to arrive at a sustainable solution that reflects the reality of the situation."
The three-day job action by a quarter of the port's 1,200 loaders and checkers kicked off Monday, one day before tens of thousands of dockworkers walked off the job at three-dozen ports in the United States, halting roughly half of the country's ocean cargo.
Many products that wind up on Canadian warehouse floors and store shelves arrived via U.S. ports, while some Canadian exports to the U.S. wend their way toward American ports to be shipped overseas.
In Canada, manufacturers and food distributors worry that a prolonged strike in the U.S. would cause weeks-long backlogs and strand shipments of items ranging from apples to auto parts.
Fresh Taste Produce, an Ontario-based food importer, is awaiting a load of South African oranges now languishing on a dock at the Port of New York and New Jersey.
"We should be OK for a week, but I'm not sure," said Lyda Gonzalez, import co-ordinator at the company.
