Following a 987-day lockout, longshore workers at the Port of Quebec returned to work and were greeted this morning by an honour guard to salute the determined fight they waged throughout this historic lockout.
“Even though this unfortunate event is behind us, we will never stop speaking out against this unjustified lockout and the subsequent use of section 107 by the government to end the conflict, two measures that are unacceptable. However, today, we’re happy to be going back to work to do the jobs we love to do. Thanks to the support and mobilization by CUPE and other unions, we got through this unfair ordeal,” said Stéphane Arsenault, president of the union representing longshore workers at the Port of Quebec.
“These courageous workers had to deal with a narrowminded employer that often acted in bad faith. In addition, governments at different political levels let them down by closing their eyes to the plight of these families left to their own devices. But they can be proud, because their determination had much to do with the passage of federal anti-scab legislation,” said Patrick Gloutney, president of CUPE Quebec.
The use of replacement workers at the Port of Quebec clearly illustrated the injustice that locked out workers had to suffer due to the lack of such legislation. The 81 employees affected were not the first ones to be subjected to such unfairness, but they are definitely the last ones. The aforementioned anti-scab legislation will take effect next June 20.