Lockout at the Port of Montreal: The Employer will not Negotiate

MONTREAL, Nov. 11, 2024 /CNW/ - The Port of Montreal Longshoremen's Union (CUPE 375) held a press conference to announce that they had rented rooms in a hotel in the Montreal area and that they are ready to negotiate.

"We are in a lockout situation because the employer does not want to negotiate, and this has been the case since September 27th. They are acting like bullies and are not respecting our constitutional right to collective bargaining. Nothing in this hostile offer reflects the union's demands. If the employer had respected the negotiation processes, we would have found solutions and avoided a conflict at the Port of Montreal," declared Michel Murray, SCFP/CUPE representative and spokesperson for the union.

Yesterday, members of the Montreal Port Longshoremen's Union (CUPE 375) rejected by 99.7%, via a secret ballot, the final global offer presented by the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) last Thursday. The turnout was impressive: 1,086 of the 1,197 longshoremen exercised their right to vote.

"If the employer does not respond positively to the union's invitation to sit down to negotiate, clearly they want the federal government to intervene. This would be another affront to workers' rights to bargain collectively," concluded the union spokesperson.

With more than 141,000 members in Quebec, CUPE represents the Montreal Port Longshoremen's Unionas well as longshoremen at the ports of Quebec, Trois-Rivières, Sorel and Matane, for a total of approximately 1,550 members. CUPE is also present in the following sectors: social affairs, communications, education, universities, energy, municipalities, Crown corporations and public bodies, air and land transportation, the mixed sector and the fire sector. It is the largest union affiliated with the FTQ.

SOURCE Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique (FTQ)

Information: Lisa Djevahirdjian, SCFP Communications, 514 831-3815, [email protected]