Longshore worker unions denounce federal intervention in railway labour conflict [Video]

Unions representing longshore workers at the country’s major ports are promising to put pressure on the federal government if it won’t commit to staying out of potential labour disputes in the sector.

Labour leaders representing dock workers in Vancouver, Montreal and Halifax told reporters Thursday they are ready to mobilize against Ottawa if the government gets involved the way it did in last week’s railway lockouts.

Their comments were in reaction to the federal government’s decision to call for binding arbitration and force an end to a work stoppage at the country’s two major railways less than a day after it began.

In Montreal Thursday, union leaders from around the country said they wrote to federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon asking whether he intends to invoke powers under Section 107 of the Canada Labour Code for the longshore sector.

At the Port of Montreal, negotiations continue with the Maritime Employers …