November 20, 2023 – The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) has provided an update on negotiations at the Port of Montreal toward a new labour agreement. The current agreement will expire on December 31. The MEA filed an essential services request to the CIRB. CUPE Local 375 executives were granted until November 17 to respond. The MEA has 10 days to respond to the union’s submission, bringing the next steps in the request process to around November 27. The MEA, union and conciliators have met three times and have four meetings scheduled in the coming two weeks. The MEA said its objective remains a negotiated collective agreement.
November 13, 2023 – Australia’s biggest ports operator, which has been the target of a cyberattack, has begun gradually restarting its operations, but key exports could be subject to prolonged delays. DP World Australia closed its Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle port operations after detecting the breach on Friday, leaving cargo and containers stuck on the docks. The company disconnected its internet, which stopped ongoing unauthorized access to its network. This also resulted in key systems linked to its port operations not functioning normally.
November 3, 2023 – The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) announced on November 2 the ratification of a three-year collective agreement with its 360 unionized employees represented by Unifor. After the resumption of navigation at 7:00 am on October 30, SLSMC teams worked with marine industry partners to clear the backlog of waiting vessels throughout the system. By November 1, the reopening plan had been fully implemented.
October 30, 2023 – The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) and the union representing 360 unionized employees reached an agreement that ends the strike that began on October 22. The agreement will have to be ratified by employees in the coming days. Employees were expected to return to work this morning
October 20, 2023 – The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) was served with a 72-hour notice to strike by Unifor on October 18, for locals 4211, 4319, 4212, 4323 and 4320. The union intends to begin strike action as of 00:01 on Sunday, October 22. As a result of Unifor’s strike notification, SLSMC has started implementing its detailed plans for an orderly and safe shutdown of the system within the 72-hour notice period. Should the unionized workers proceed with strike action, the St. Lawrence Seaway will be closed to all traffic.
August 31, 2023 – Statistics Canada has released new data about how the economy started off the third quarter, saying the country’s GDP remains essentially unchanged. One economist says it highlights an ongoing trend of weak performance. "The economy is flat-lining… we are not seeing any indications of strong growth," said David Macdonald, a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. "If we do end up in a recession, which is very plausible… (it) would be a rounding error recession at this point." As Canadian growth remains stuck in neutral for a second consecutive month, Macdonald explains it’s becoming part of an "ongoing trend" for the country’s economy. "We’ve been going through this very weak growth… but at the same time, the interest rate has been rising," Macdonald said. "Usually we’d see the opposite… we’d see rates go down." That’s leading to a "very unusual" situation, warns Macdonald, because consumers aren’t seeing any relief, even as growth slows.
September 26, 2023 – Multiple sources confirmed yesterday that the executive committee of CUPE 375 sent a Notice of Dispute to the Minister of Labour after only one meeting with the Montreal Port Authority at which initial demands were exchanged.
As a result of this action, strike action at the Port of Montreal is possible in the coming months.
August 8, 2023 – With the port strike now over, recovery efforts will not begin in earnest across all modes of transportation that were affected by the 3 week strike. Estimates are that it will take at least 2 months for the rail and port infrastructure to return to operating efficiency. Canaan Transport will be contacting affected clients individually to discuss your shipments. Thank you for your patience.
August 4, 2023 – In an anti-climatic vote the union has accepted the latest deal and the port strike is now over. News on continued recovery efforts will be forthcoming.
August 2, 2023 – With a self imposed media blackout there has been little information on the status of the on again off again Canada west coast port strike. However the ports will be shut down this afternoon to allow the union to have a meeting prior to their vote on the tentative deal. The vote will happen no later than Friday so we expect that the recovery will begin in earnest next week. More news as it develops.