Port of Montreal Lockout Set to End 2010-07-23

A lockout at the Port of Montreal is set to end Saturday morning, officials announced late Thursday.

The suspension of operations was brought to a close by an interim agreement between management and workers.

The deal covers conditions for reopening the port, while a full contract still needs to be negotiated.

A spokesman for the port said the unionized longshoremen were to vote on the deal on Friday morning and if it was approved, work should resume Saturday.

The longshoremen were locked out Monday by their employers over pressure tactics used in their contract dispute.

Union president Daniel Tremblay said he was “very pleased” with the turn of events.

Mr. Tremblay said the workers had obtained a “very good” conditions and he urged them to ratify the agreement.

He said the sides would open an intensive round of talks Monday aimed at renewing their labour agreement.

Both sides have agreed to a resumption of normal operations that should last through mid-October, which is the target date both sides have set for reaching a new deal.

At issue for the union is job security, as well as keeping guaranteed payments when longshoremen are on call and waiting for work.

The some 900 longshoremen, who unload shipping containers full of goods at the port, have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2008.

The Port of Montreal, the country's second-largest after Vancouver, says it generates spinoffs of some $2-billion annually, and creates more than 17,600 direct and indirect jobs.

Source: CTV News