Montreal dock workers return after Trudeau orders strike s end
Ilya Banares, Bloomberg News
Port of Montreal strike could not have come at a worse time for farmers: Fertilizer Canada CEO VIDEO SIGN OUT
Longshoremen at Canadaâs Port of Montreal are back at work after lawmakers passed legislation to end a strike that added to shipping delays.
The Montreal Port Authority said full operations have resumed as of Saturday. Under Prime Minister Justin Trudeauâs order, a new collective agreement will be established between the workers and the employers, and work stoppages will no longer be possible, it added.
âThis new turning point lets the Port of Montreal regain stability and the capability to fulfill its strategic role as a public service without long-term interruptions,â said Chief Executive Officer Martin Imbleau. âOur priority now is to plan for the resumption of port operations and to ensure efficient and seamless service.â
Article content
Striking dockworkers at Canada’s second-biggest port will gradually return to work on Saturday, the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) said, after the federal government passed a law to end the walkout.
Late on Friday, the Canadian government passed back-to-work legislation to halt the strike, which workers at the Port of Montreal began on Monday over changes to their work schedules.
We apologize, but this video has failed to load.
Try refreshing your browser, or Montreal port says work to resume, union vows to fight government s new law Back to video
“Our priority now is to plan for the resumption of port operations and to ensure efficient and seamless service,” MPA Chief Executive Martin Imbleau said.
Montreal port says work to resume, union vows to fight government s new law financialpost.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from financialpost.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
By Reuters Staff
2 Min Read
(Corrects spelling of Perrine to Perrin in paragraph 8 and Gearing to Gerling in paragraph 10)
MONTREAL, April 26 (Reuters) - Dockworkers at Canada’s second-largest port on Monday began their second strike in less than a year, as business leaders urged Ottawa to quickly end a walkout they said could cost the economy C$25 million ($20 million) a day.
The federal Liberal government said on Sunday it would introduce special legislation to end the strike at the Port of Montreal, hoping to stop it from hurting the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unionized workers, in talks for a new contract since 2018, started a partial strike last week and warned they were prepared to walk off the job completely to protest changes to their work schedule.
Montreal dockers face looming threat of Trudeau back-to-work law on second day of strike
Yesterday at 7:00 a.m., 1,150 dockers at the Port of Montreal launched an indefinite general strike. Underscoring that the workers’ struggle is above all a political fight, the federal Liberal government led by Justin Trudeau is rushing to pass antidemocratic strikebreaking legislation little more than a day after the job action began.
Without a contract since December 2018, the Montreal dockworkers are waging a determined fight against the Maritime Employers Association’s (MEA) attempts to impose regressive changes to their working conditions.
Port of Montreal workers during their strike last August.