Longshoremen at Canada's second-largest port have voted nearly unanimously for a strike mandate to be used at any time during ongoing contract negotiations their employers.

Members voted 99.49 in favour of giving their union a mandate to call a strike, a result union spokesman Michel Murray said Wednesday is hardly surprising given working conditions he called "oppressive."

Since the last contract was signed in 2013, 30 longshoremen have been fired and 1,000 suspension days have been levied against the port's roughly 1,100 members, he said in an interview.

Also, at issue are salaries and schedules requiring longshoremen to work 19 days out of every 21, Murray added.

"The work schedules are from another era," he said. "There is a new generation and they want to better reconcile their work with their family and private lives."

The union is negotiating a new contract, which expired in December, with the Maritime Employers Association, a group that includes ship owners, operators, agents and longshoring companies.

Murray said negotiations are in their early stages but he is not optimistic.

A spokesman for the employer’s association said negotiations are going well and its members are surprised by the union's statements.

"The objective has always been to conclude a good agreement that is mutually beneficial to both the union and the employer’s association," said Yves Comeau.

Source: CTV Montreal