Dockworkers will be locked out at 9 p.m. Sunday if a deal isn't reached, and only essential services and activities unrelated to dockworkers will continue at the port after the deadline.

The Maritime Employers Association (MEA) on Thursday presented what it described as its “final and comprehensive” offer to longshore workers, warning that if that offer is refused, those workers will be locked out as of 9 p.m. Sunday.

Unionized workers started an unlimited strike at two terminals of the port of Montreal on Thursday amid stalled talks on a new labor contract, the employers' association said.

The employers' association at the Port of Montreal has issued the dockworkers' union a "final, comprehensive offer," threatening to lock out workers at 9 p.m. Sunday if a deal isn't reached.

A Sunday deadline in Montreal comes as a labor dispute at Canada’s West Coast ports also remains in a deadlock.

By Ed White (Reuters) -Port of Montreal terminal operators have threatened to shut down most operations as of Sunday after providing a final offer to the longshore union. The total shutdown would further slow Canadian imports and exports at a time the Port of Montreal is already operating at partial capacity and as West Coast ports are stopped due to a separate dispute.

The MEA is offering union dockworkers a wage increase of more than 20 percent over six years, but wants a response by Sunday night.

The employers association at the Port of Montreal has issued the dockworkers' union a "final, comprehensive offer," threatening to lock out workers at 9 p.m. Sunday if a deal isn't reached.