Port of Montreal employer issues ‘final’ offer to dockworkers, threatens lockout

The longshore workers launched a partial unlimited strike on Oct. 31, which has paralyzed two terminals that represent 40 per cent of the port's total container handling capacity.

The employers association at the Port of Montreal has issued the dockworkers’ union a “final, comprehensive offer,” threatening to lock out workers at 9 p.m. Sunday if a deal isn’t reached.

The Maritime Employers Association says its new offer includes a three per cent salary increase per year for four years and a 3.5 per cent increase for the two subsequent years.

It says the offer would bring the total average compensation package of a longshore worker at the Port of Montreal to more than $200,000 per year at the end of the contract.

In return, the employers association says it is asking longshore workers to provide at least one hour’s notice when they will be absent from a shift — instead of one minute — to help reduce management issues.

The longshore workers launched a partial unlimited strike on Oct. 31, which has paralyzed two terminals that represent 40 per cent of the port’s total container handling capacity.

The union has previously said it will accept the same increases that were granted to its counterparts in Halifax or Vancouver — 20 per cent over four years.

The employer says that in the event of a lockout, only essential services and activities unrelated to longshoring will continue at the port after 9 p.m. Sunday.