Minister's proposed strike freeze fails to find traction in Montreal port standoff

Containers are unloaded at the Port of Montreal Thursday, July 20, 2017. Montreal Port employers and longshoremen are gearing up for a battle over the definition of “essential service†amidst ongoing negotiations for a new collective agreement. (Ryan Remiorz / The Canadian Press)

A push by the federal labour minister to reset relations in a labour standoff at the Port of Montreal has come to naught, as a partial strike drags on.

In a social media post on Monday evening, Steven MacKinnon said dockworkers and their employers failed to find consensus after he proposed a three-month freeze on strikes and lockouts early last week.

The would-be 90-day work stoppage aimed to have a special mediator work with both sides to hammer out a deal after bargaining stalled earlier this month.

MacKinnon says the Maritime Employers Association and the longshore workers union must now "find a path" toward a negotiated agreement as quickly as possible.

He says federal mediators remain on hand to help with the contract talks, where scheduling and wages have proven major stumbling blocks.

On Oct. 10, nearly 1,200 dockworkers at the country's second-largest port launched an indefinite strike on overtime shifts, a week after they carried out a three-day strike at two container port terminals.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Oct. 21, 2024.