April 11, 2021 – The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) shared the following message on Saturday, April 10. The Port of Montreal suffered a substantial 11%-volume drop in March, caused by the uncertainty and anxiety triggered by the labour relations situation. The employer exercised its right and gave a 72-hour notice to the union executive of the longshoremen before removing the income guarantee and stops paying the hours that are not worked, in order to mitigate the adverse effects of this volume drop.

The MEA will continue its efforts to conclude a negotiated collective agreement as soon as possible.

The MEA emphasized in a follow-up message to CIFFA that this is not a lockout. “Employees that are not working will not be paid. That’s it."

The MEA received a response on Saturday evening from the union, providing its own 72-hour notice, key elements of which are that:

· Starting Tuesday, April 13 at 6:00 pm, employees will do no overtime / fishing / extension hours.

· Starting Tuesday, April 13 at 6:00 pm, employees will not participate in any training activities.

· Starting Saturday, April 17, no linesmen will work on the weekend between Saturday 8:00 am and Monday 7:59 am.

· Starting Saturday, April 17, no employees will work on weekend shifts between Saturday 7:00 am and Monday 5:59 am.

All of these measures are applicable for an unlimited period of time.