Pressure to end the port lockout in Montreal grew as it entered its third day Wednesday.

Negotiators for the Maritime Employers Association and the union representing 850 longshoremen are scheduled to sit down with mediators on Thursday and Friday.

Locked-out longshoremen walk the picket lines at the Port of Montreal on Monday. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

But leaders with Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 375, which represents the longshoremen, were pushing for talks to begin Wednesday.

Union spokesman Michel Murray said in French that it was time for the association to take off its children's shorts, put on its men's pants and take a seat at the negotiating table.

Gilles Corriveau, a spokesperson for the employers group, said: "The employers are ready to sit and get it solved as soon as possible."

Quebec's largest employers group — the Conseil du patronat du Québec — said a long dispute would be a disaster for the city's economy.

"In the context of still-fragile recovery, it would be very wrong if the parties fail to agree very quickly and the dispute continues," said the group's president, Yves-Thomas Dorval.

Some ships diverting to Halifax

Wal-Mart Canada ships a large quantity of goods through the Montreal port and is trying to work around the stoppage.

"We are working through the situation to try and minimize the impact on our operation," spokesperson Susan Schutta said in a statement.

"However, if the shutdown is not resolved quickly, it will have a serous impact on all businesses who rely on the Port of Montreal," she said.

Bloomberg reported that if a settlement isn't reached within days, the lockout may result in layoffs at AbitibiBowater Inc. and might delay a $20-million investment at papermaker Cascades Inc.

Commercial operations at the Port of Montreal — Canada's second biggest port after Vancouver — came to a halt Monday morning after the Employers Association locked out the longshoremen in an ongoing labour dispute over a new collective agreement. Job security and revenue guarantees for recent hires are key issues.

The longshoremen have been without a contract since Dec. 31, 2008, CUPE said.

Some shipping traffic that had been destined for Montreal has been diverted to Halifax.