CUPE is upset about three work accidents that occurred late yesterday afternoon at the Port of Matane. The accidents caused the death of Gilles Létourneau of Saint-Léandre, and serious injury to two other workers.
On behalf of all the members of CUPE, union representative Yanick Proulx first offered his condolences to the family, relatives and colleagues of Gilles Letourneau and wished the two other victims a speedy recovery. He added, “The Matane longshoremen can count on the collaboration of CUPE and all the means at its disposal, including its expertise in health and safety, to support them in the aftermath of this very sad event.”
“We hope that the investigation will shed light on the circumstances of this deplorable accident so that this kind of tragedy never happens again,” said Mr. Proulx.
Last October 15, in many of the ports in Quebec, the longshoremen affiliated with CUPE issued a heartfelt plea for safety in Quebec’s ports, during a day of action (http://www.scfp.qc.ca/modules/nouvelles/nouvelle.php?id=1620&langue=fr).
CUPE is the largest longshoremen’s union in Quebec. The longshoremen at the ports of Montreal, Quebec City, Matane, Contrecoeur, Sorel-Tracy, Bécancour and Trois-Rivières are affiliated with CUPE.