Canada Markets

Grain Workers Union 333 (GWU 333) members ended their four-day strike on Sept. 28 as members of Canadian Union of Public employees (CUPE) went on strike Sept. 30.

On Sept. 27, after a four-day strike, Grain Workers Union 333 posted on its Facebook page, "We are pleased to announce we have a memorandum of agreement." The union, which represents 650 grain workers at terminals in Metro Vancouver, served the Vancouver Terminal Elevators Association (VTEA) reached a tentative agreement to end the strike on Sept. 27.

In a letter posted to members on Facebook, the union said that workers would return to work on the morning of Sept. 28 and would continue to work pending ratification of the settlement on Oct. 4.

Meanwhile, Port of Montreal longshoremen members of CUPE 301 voted to strike after being without a contract since Jan. 1, 2024, and unable to come to terms in contract negotiations. After giving a 72-hour notice, the strike began on Sept. 30 at the Viau and Maisonneuve container terminals.

A press release on the CUPE website noted, "Montreal-West outside workers, who are members of the Montreal union of amalgamated outside workers (CUPE 301), unanimously voted in favour of pressure tactics up to and including strike action."

"To get the deadlocked talks moving again, union members gave their union this mandate to support their bargaining committee. They have really mobilized to improve their working conditions," Jean-Pierre Lauzon, president of CUPE 301, stated in the press release.

The collective agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2023, and the parties have been negotiating since March 2024. Wage catch-up is the major issue. "Members have incurred a significant loss of purchasing power in the wake of high recent inflation," added the press release.

The Maritime Association Employees (MEA) on their website said it had tried all possible means of averting the strike at the Viau and Maisonneuve terminals, operated by Termont at the Port of Montreal, but to no avail.

"The MEA's efforts through mediation, supported by the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, and at an emergency hearing on Sept. 29 at the Canada Industrial Relations Board, did not bear fruit. The MEA had sincerely hoped to find common ground between the parties so that we could maintain operations. We are thus disappointed with this outcome. The MEA's priority remains the conclusion of a negotiated collective agreement within the briefest possible delay."

As of now, the strike is expected to last until Oct. 3.

Mary Kennedy can be reached at mary.kennedy@dtn.com

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