Several dozen union members of the Federation of Autonomous Education (FAE), which has been on an indefinite general strike since November 23, blocked the entrance to the Port of Montreal on Thursday morning to protest the delay in negotiations with the Treasury Board.
Similar action took place at the Port of Quebec, where strikers gathered on Henri-Pourassa boulevard.
The demonstrations came a day after their union rejected Quebec’s most recent offer.
Waving flags in their union colors, the strikers began blocking the main entrance to the Port of Montreal, at the Boucherville and Notre-Dame streets entrance, near Highway 25, just before 6 a.m.
A long line of trucks then formed on Notre-Dame Street. Many of them did not hesitate to sound their horns in support of the strikers.
After the stampede ended, the protesters began to disperse.
The Montreal Port Authority announced that the strikers’ fury had a “significant impact” on its operations. “About 25% of the trucks, or 500 to 800, could not come and do their transactions this morning,” he said, based on an estimate based on average daily traffic.
“We have to adjust logistics accordingly during the day to catch the delay,” he added.
In an interview on Radio-Canada radio, Melanie Hubert, president of the FAE, explained that union members have gradually increased their pressure tactics and are now “choosing economic targets that speak to the government more than other targets that we’ve taken”. [es] In the past “.
“The only language government understands is the language of money,” argued Patrick Bydall, vice-president for political life at the FAE earlier, when questioned about the motives that prompted the strikers to target the Port of Montreal.
Melanie Hubert reiterates that striking teachers aim to secure a new employment contract before the holidays, admitting that “it will be difficult” given the pace of negotiations, but “not enough at the moment”.
The FAE is ready to negotiate during the holiday period, and Mme Hubert lamented that the Legault government had “let the conflict drag on for so long”.
More details to follow.
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