More than 1,000 dockworkers at the Port of Montreal are scheduled to go on strike, a move that the port authority says will shutdown all port operations.
The dockworker’s union, affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), says that management at the Port of Montreal doesn’t want to negotiate and is pursuing a policy of provocation that includes changes to work schedules.
The port authority has said it is disappointed with the union’s decision and is now reviewing its options as the strike gets underway.
Federal Labour Minister Filomena Tassi said over the weekend that the federal government will table back-to-work legislation in the coming days if an agreement is not reached.
Minister Tassi said Ottawa would prefer not to intervene but may have no choice given what she called the significant harm to Canada’s economy caused by a work stoppage at the Port of Montreal.
The dock workers, who have been without a contract since December 2018, have been on an overtime strike since April 17 and have refused to work weekends since April 18.