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Montreal Port set to Reopen
Friday, July 23, 2010 > 15:12:13
[Source: cbc.ca]
Agreement to end lockout approved, but talks still needed for full contract
Port of Montreal longshoremen have voted in favour of an agreement that ends a five-day lockout, meaning the port will reopen Saturday at 8 a.m. ET.
Workers approved the back-to-work deal Friday and it will remain in effect until mid-October. The union and management will resume full contract talks on Monday, with a federal mediator present.
The interim agreement was reached Thursday night after intensive talks involving mediators.
Michel Murray, a spokesman for the longshoremen's union, recommended acceptance, saying it will put an end to "economic pressure" by the employer.
The Maritime Employers Association had agreed to reinstate 169 on-call positions that were cut. In exchange, the union said it would stop all pressure tactics, including refusing to work overtime.
For the union, a key issue remaining in contract talks is job security, as well as keeping guaranteed payments when longshoremen are on call and waiting for work.
The 850 longshoremen, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 375, have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2008.
During the lockout, the port has been closed to ships carrying goods into the city, forcing several companies to reroute their vessels to Nova Scotia and the United States.
The port employs 5,400 people and generates an estimated $1.5 billion yearly for the Canadian economy. It is Canada's second-largest port, after Vancouver, and the eighth-busiest in North America.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/07/23/montreal-port-interim-deal.html#ixzz0uXAsbaOT
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/07/23/montreal-port-interim-deal.html#ixzz0uXAkAtP6
Workers approved the back-to-work deal Friday and it will remain in effect until mid-October. The union and management will resume full contract talks on Monday, with a federal mediator present.
The interim agreement was reached Thursday night after intensive talks involving mediators.
Michel Murray, a spokesman for the longshoremen's union, recommended acceptance, saying it will put an end to "economic pressure" by the employer.
The Maritime Employers Association had agreed to reinstate 169 on-call positions that were cut. In exchange, the union said it would stop all pressure tactics, including refusing to work overtime.
For the union, a key issue remaining in contract talks is job security, as well as keeping guaranteed payments when longshoremen are on call and waiting for work.
The 850 longshoremen, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 375, have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2008.
During the lockout, the port has been closed to ships carrying goods into the city, forcing several companies to reroute their vessels to Nova Scotia and the United States.
The port employs 5,400 people and generates an estimated $1.5 billion yearly for the Canadian economy. It is Canada's second-largest port, after Vancouver, and the eighth-busiest in North America.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/07/23/montreal-port-interim-deal.html#ixzz0uXAsbaOT
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/newfoundland-labrador/story/2010/07/23/montreal-port-interim-deal.html#ixzz0uXAkAtP6