MONTREAL — The clock is ticking on a threat by the employers association at the Port of Montreal to lockout 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 spokeswoman 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.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 10, 2024.

The Canadian Press