Two major terminals at Montreal Port operated by Terminal Termont Inc. will close next week as unionized dockworkers prepare for a three-day strike starting Sept. 30.
“Operations, including service to truckers, will resume on [Oct. 3],” the container terminal operator said Friday in a statement on its website.
The 1,200 dockworkers, represented by the Port of Montreal Longshoremen’s Union, have been without a collective agreement since Dec. 31, and talks are nearing an impasse over wages and work-life balance. The union gave 72-hour strike notice on Sept. 27 to the Maritime Employers Association.
Montreal Port Authority has activated a business continuity plan to ensure the actions don’t affect the rest of the port operations, according to a statement published Sept. 27 on its website.
“Although negotiations are continuing, we are disappointed that they have not, to date, enabled both parties to reach an agreement, while nearly C$6 billion ($4.4 billion) worth of goods are expected to arrive on the Port of Montreal’s docks in the coming weeks,” CEO Julie Gascon said in the statement.
