Quebec’s labour tribunal has authorized 4,500 bus drivers and metro operators with Montreal’s transit agency, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), to hold a one-day strike on Saturday, with no essential services other than paratransit. The decision means there will be no bus or metro service on Saturday. If the STM’s driver and operator strike coincides with the potential strike by maintenance workers, metro service would end at closing time on Oct. 31 and resume at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 2. Bus service would end at 1:15 a.m. on the night of Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 and resume at 6:15 a.m. on Nov. 2. The 747 bus that goes to the Montreal-Trudeau airport will also not be in service on Saturday. Judge Maude Pepin Hallé ruled that “the 24-hour interruption over the weekend will not endanger public health or safety.” “In recent weeks, we have held discussions with the union to increase the level of essential services agreed upon several months ago, given the experiences of the last two maintenance strikes,” said STM CEO Marie-Claude Léonard. “We remind you that it is the responsibility of the Administrative Labour Tribunal to determine the adequacy of essential services and to make a decision accordingly. We are aware of the impact this day of service disruption will have on our customers.” A spokesperson for the union representing bus and metro operators admitted the timing of the all-day Saturday strike just before voters go to the polls may not be a coincidence. CUPE local president Frédéric Therrien told CTV News that all candidates in the municipal election should be publicly calling for adequate financing of public transit in Montreal, and that the city and province need to invest more into the system. The maintenance workers’ strike Montrealers are also waiting anxiously to see if a deal can be reached between the STM and the two unions representing 2,400 maintenance employees, who are also threatening to go on strike. If negotiations fail, that strike is set to begin Friday night and last nearly a month. During that time, buses and metros would only operate during morning and evening rush hours, and for a few hours late at night. Under the STM’s proposed strike schedule, buses and metros would run during rush hour, with bus service resuming between 11:15 p.m. and 1:15 a.m. and the metro running from 11 p.m. until closing time. The business community is warning that the strike could deal a major blow to Montreal’s economy. “Public transit is not a privilege in Montreal, it is a necessity, and when it stops, it is the city that stops,” said François Vincent of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB). A recent CFIB survey found that more than 45 per cent of its members lost money during the two previous STM strikes. “It is not normal that in a metropolis all buses and metro are shut down for 10 hours,” Vincent said. Maintenance workers’ union representative Bruno Jeannotte of the CSN says there’s still time for both sides to reach an agreement. “If the STM is serious and wants to find a deal, it’s impossible the strike will last 28 days,” Jeannotte said. The STM told CTV News it is currently in a negotiation blitz and plans to hold a news conference Friday morning. With files from the Canadian Press.
