A federal tribunal has stated that Montreal port employers cannot force employees to work during a strike, which opens the door for negotiations to restart before potential job action.
In a ruling this week, the Canada Industrial Relations Board rejected an effort by the Maritime Employers Association to prolong a debate about whether port work is considered essential, dismissing their argument.
The employers and the union representing 2,100 port workers did not reach a new collective agreement before it expired on Dec. 31, but the case was in front of the tribunal at that time, delaying potential job action.
In justifying its concise decision, the labour board referenced a previous judgment where the employers association failed to prove “imminent and serious risks to the health and safety of the public” — the standard for essential service — in the event of a work stoppage.
In October, the association had requested the tribunal to review whether longshore workers perform essential service in an effort to avoid a strike on the waterfront.
In the summer of 2020, Montreal longshore workers carried out a 12-day strike that left thousands of containers sitting on the dock at Canada’s second-largest port. Last summer, a 13-day strike by 7,400 B.C. dockworkers shut down the country’s largest port and resulted in billions of dollars in economic losses.
