Montreal longshore workers have gotten permission to strike after an industrial relations board ruled the port is not an essential service to the region, but longshore workers say they have agreed to return to contract negotiations with employers rather than taking the strike option. The Canada Industrial Relations Board on June 8 ruled that the Maritime Employers Association (MEA) failed to demonstrate that a strike would cause enough risk to public safety and security, pointing to alternative routings and modes for cargo transport to the Montreal region if longshore workers did strike. The ability to strike could give the longshore workers’ union Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 375 more leverage in its negotiations with employers for a future contract. The six-year contract between port workers and employers expired Dec. 31, 2018.
