Unifor, St. Lawrence Seaway Corp Break Deadlock with Tentative Agreement

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A tentative agreement appears to have broken the deadlock between Unifor and the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp., following weeks of a labour strike that started on October 22nd. The battle for labour rights that led to a worrisome stall of the Seaway’s 15 locks has been closely followed by the premiers of Quebec and Ontario. They had already reached out to Ottawa to step in should the federally mediated discussions prove fruitless.

Providentially, the weekend bore fruit with both parties issuing communiqués on Sunday evening indicating that a prospective agreement was at hand. The announcement sparked a sigh of relief for the 360 walking out Unifor members who have stood their ground at various lock stations, demanding better terms of service.


The specifics of this pact remain confidential, set to be unveiled to the union members ahead of the public. A ratification vote that would officially give the agreement a green light is expected to be organized in the near future. Following the unveiling to union members, the particulars will be disclosed to the public.

Simultaneously, the St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corp. is keen to get the wheels turning once again. The corporation will embark on its recovery strategy now that the impasse has been broken and the corporation looks to start passing ships steadily by the commencement of the week. In a statement, the management guaranteed that normal operations would commence by 7 a.m. with employees returning to their posts. Thus, while seaway operation stutters back to life, it is indeed an encouraging sign of better times ahead for seamanship on God’s river.