Back to work legislation for the Port of Montreal headed to the Senate

Back to work legislation introduced earlier this week by the federal government passed by a vote of 255 to 61 in the early hours of April 29. If ratified, the legislation regarding the strike at the Port of Montreal will legislate workers back to the job site.

The workers at issue have been without a contract since 2019, and had been going on partial strike since earlier this month, no longer working overtime and weekends. An escalation in job action began April 26 with a general strike.

The Senate is expected to review the back to work legislation Friday, April 30.

According to the Minister of Labour, Filomena Tassi, the strike could cost the economy between $40 and $100 million per week and directly impact 19,000 jobs.

The agriculture industry has been pushing for a resolution to the situation for months, and recently increased that pressure ahead of this latest strike announcement. The Port of Montreal ships a significant amount of containerized agriculture commodities, including pulses and soybeans.

The Longshoremen’s Union CUPE Local 375 calls this back to work legislation a violation of collective bargaining.

More to come…

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