The Port of Montreal is warning that shippers may face diverted cargoes as an indefinite strike began Thursday at two marine terminals handling Mediterranean Shipping Co. container services, with over two dozen vessels facing an impact depending on the length of the current work stoppage.
The Viau and Maisonneuve marine terminals operated by Termont International closed to ship, rail and truck traffic Thursday morning as members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 375, which represents 1,200 dockworkers at Montreal, walked off the job.
Montreal Port Authority (MPA) Chief Executive Julie Gascon said in a statement Thursday that the shutdown “undermines the reliability and image of our logistics sector.” The open-ended strike follows a three-day, port-wide work stoppage at the start of October, a boycott of overtime work and another port-wide strike this past Sunday.
“This new work stoppage at the Viau and Maisonneuve terminals, at the very hub of our supply chain, can only have a deeply negative impact on thousands of local businesses, as well as on the economy of Quebec and Canada as a whole,” Gascon said. Montreal’s two other international container terminals remain open.
The strike at the two terminals will idle more than 1 million TEUs of Montreal’s total 2.3 million TEUs in terminal capacity.
The MPA said five ships with combined capacity of 18,000 TEUs are currently headed for the two terminals, with those ships carrying time-sensitive pharmaceutical and medical goods. Refrigerated containers holding such goods are already backlogged at the port due to the earlier labor actions, the MPA said, adding that some scheduled outbound rail service has been canceled due to the backlog.
Over the next three weeks, 26 ships are scheduled to call the two terminals, with the MPA saying that vessels “could change their port of destination” due to the strike.
“It is imperative that the parties reach an agreement,” Gascon said. “The need to reach an agreement quickly is acute and cannot be ignored.”
MSC, whose terminal arm jointly owns and operates Termont International, said in a customer advisory Wednesday that it is “working to minimize disruptions to our customers’ supply chains” and that “vessel impacts will be communicated as available and relevant.”
The Maritime Employers Association (MEA), which represents Montreal’s terminals and stevedores, said Thursday it “deplores” the strike. The MEA and Local 375 have been in protracted negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement since the last one expired at the end of 2023.
The MEA said in its statement that Local 375 has made a demand to change work hours without formal negotiations. It said that “schedules used on the different docks … called into question by the union in recent days, are enshrined in the collective agreement in force and cannot be used as a bargaining chip for a strike targeting a single operator, as is the case today.”
The CUPE did not respond to a request for comment.
Source:
Angell, M. (2024, October 31). Montreal warns of vessel diversions as strike against MSC Terminals Begins. Journal of Commerce. https://www.joc.com/article/montreal-warns-of-vessel-diversions-as-strike-against-msc-terminals-begins-5783311