Union, Carriers Talk to End Montreal Port Lockout

Carrier and labor officials were in talks Thursday aimed at ending a lockout of longshore workers at the Port of Montreal and re-opening the port.

The negotiations came as container lines began announcing that they were diverting ships away from the port, which has been largely closed to cargo since July 18.

The three carriers that belong to the SLCS alliance — Hapag-Lloyd, OOCL and Mediterranean Shipping Co. — have diverted three vessels to the Port of Halifax and OOCL said it was not taking bookings for cargo bound for Montreal during the duration of the lockout.

The talks between the representatives of the longshore union and the Maritime Employers Association were aimed at ending that lockout quickly.

“We are exchanging information for the rapid re-opening of the port and the lifting of the lockout, Michael Murray of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, told the RDI television network.

Growing numbers of exporters and importers have started to raise concerns about the potential impact on the local economy if the lockout continues much longer.

The MEA locked out the longshore workers in a dispute over contract terms that the carriers say pays workers when there is no cargo being handled.

Meantime, the SLCS carriers said they will shift the OOCL Montreal from Gulf of St. Lawrence to Halifax, where it was expected to arrive July 22 or 23, the MSC Aniello to Halifax on or about July 23 or 24 and Hapag-Lloyd’s Toronto Express will call Halifax on or about July 25-26.

The SLCS alliance said it was still reviewing options on the routing of the MSC Gina and the OOCL Belgium with regard to the labor situation prevailing at the time of sailing from Europe bound for Montreal.

In addition, two more vessels with cargo containers originally headed to Montreal were expected to arrive in Halifax on Thursday, said Halifax Port Authority spokeswoman Michele Peveril.

“It’s still relatively early into this situation in Montreal and it’s difficult for our port to predict what will come in the next few days or weeks," she told the Canadian Press.

-- Contact Peter T. Leach at pleach@joc.com.