The clock is ticking on a threat by the employers’ association at the Port of Montreal to lock out some 1,200 dockworkers if their union doesn’t agree to a deal on what it calls a final offer last week.
Dockworkers will be locked out at 9 p.m. Sunday if a deal isn’t reached, and only essential services and activities unrelated to dockworkers will continue at the port after the deadline.
A spokesperson for the Canadian Union of Public Employees says members are voting on the latest offer until 6 p.m. today and results will be released.
The employer says its new offer includes a three per cent salary increase per year for four years and a 3.5 per cent increase for the two subsequent years.
The increases would bring a longshore worker’s total average compensation at the Port of Montreal to more than $200,000 per year at the end of the contract.
Last week, a union official said the new offer contained just “cosmetic changes” and doesn’t address issues about scheduling.
Workers have been without a collective agreement since Dec. 31, 2023.