Employees of the Old Port of Montreal could be on strike starting Tuesday.
The Société immobilière du Canada union is in negotiations to renew collective agreements, with wages at the heart of the dispute. The union is demanding that new employees’ wages and those at levels 1 and 2 be increased to $15 an hour rather than the current $10.67.
The 200 employees include ticketing, sales and education positions at the Montreal Science Centre as well as maintenance, parking, security at the Port of Call and at the ice rink on the Old Port of Montreal site. The Port of Call is the marina located between the Jacques-Cartier and Edward Quays.
According to Konrad Lamour, president of the Syndicat des employé(e)s du Vieux-Port de Montréal (SEVPM), union members voted in favour of a strike mandate by a large majority.
On May 13, workers rejected a final offer from their employer. Management offered a wage increase of 2 per cent, “which does not make up for the shortfall,” according to Lamour.
Lamour added that the offer did not represent a gain, since the employer was offering the same thing as what was negotiated in the last agreement.
Collective agreements for SEVPM members ended on March 31, 2016 and negotiations began in February. After only one day of negotiations, the parties requested the intervention of a mediator, the union said.
