​CUPE 1375, representing longshoremen at the ports of Trois-Rivières and Bécancour, today signed a nine-year collective agreement with the Maritime Employers Association. Valid until 2023, with an option year in 2024, this collective agreement will ensure a long period of industrial peace, to the benefit of both the 103 longshoremen and the employers.

The historic agreement will create a healthier work environment while contributing to regional economic development.

The agreement includes a pay increase and a significant increase in the contribution to the pension fund of all the longshoremen. According to the parties, the new agreement will lead to an increase in the number of employees while improving the workers’ quality of life by enabling a better balance between work and family life.

“After nearly 40 meetings over a year and a half, we are able to say that the climate at the negotiating table has been consistently cordial. I think this is a win-win agreement,” said CUPE union representative Mario Fontaine.

The agreement also provides greater flexibility regarding work schedules to better meet client expectations and manage the increased tonnage resulting from the expansion of the Port of Trois-Rivières and the implementation of the Quebec Government’s maritime strategy.

With more than 110,000 members in Quebec, CUPE represents longshoremen at the ports of Montreal, Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, Sorel, Matane, and Baie-Comeau. CUPE is also present in the following sectors: health and social services, communications, education, universities, energy, municipalities, government corporations and public agencies, air and urban transport, and the mixed sector.