Maintenance workers with Montreal’s transit agency, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM), have issued a new strike notice for Oct 31 to Nov. 28. The Syndicat du transport de Montréal-CSN, the union representing the 2,400 maintenance workers, says strike action is “necessary in the face of the STM’s senseless inflexibility” after more than 115 negotiation meetings. “The STM remains entrenched in its positions and refuses to bring the necessary people to the table to reach an agreement,” it argues. “Mediation is ongoing and aims to bring the parties closer together, but the transportation company’s inflexibility is preventing progress in the discussions that would take into account the concerns of both sides.” The union, affiliated with the Fédération des employées et employés de services publics (FEESP-CSN) and the Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain (CCMM-CSN), argues that its every move at the bargaining table is “met with a cold response from the transit corporation.” The strike would mean no overtime, slowdowns and service stoppages, “although service will be maintained during rush hour.” The workers previously held two other strikes, one from June 9 to 17, and another from Sept. 22 to Oct. 5. “If we want to maintain good working conditions, we have no choice but to prepare once again to go on strike,” said Bruno Jeannotte, president of the Syndicat du transport de Montréal-CSN. “We would have liked to avoid it, and we did everything we could to do so.” The strike is expected to start overnight from Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 and end on Nov. 28. Public transit users will have to check their schedules on the STM website.
