STM and union still at an ‘impasse’ as second strike nears its end, negotiations to continue

The STM and transit workers will go back into contract talks with a new team of mediators.

Montreal’s public transit authority (STM) says the latest round of negotiations with the union representing maintenance workers was unfruitful.

The STM workers’ strike started Sept. 22 and will end Oct. 3, after two weeks of service disruption in June.

As of Friday, there is no deal in sight between the parties.

Negotiations had been ongoing with a government-appointed mediator, whose 60-day mandate ended Tuesday without an agreement.

The STM said on Wednesday that the mediator chose not to extend mediation efforts, though the union disputed this and said the STM chose not to renew the mediator’s contract.

After a Friday meeting between the STM, the union and Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet, the transit agency said it accepted the minister’s proposal to renew negotiations with a new team of mediators.

Both the STM and the union accuse the other of not budging on important points.

“What we want is to break the deadlock and change the dynamic with the help of a new third party in order to reach an agreement,” said Marie-Claude Léonard, Executive Director of the STM, in a news release.

The union said it welcomed the move and sees it as a good sign for negotiations.

Some of the mediators appointed by Boulet took part in the Quebec City bus driver negotiations.

“I think we have a pretty good team for with us to helping us to try to finally to reach an agreement,” said CSN first vice-president François Enault.

“For us, it’s better to have an agreement reached within the party instead of having somebody impose you something you maybe don’t want,” he added.

Request for third-party arbitrator

On Wednesday, the STM asked Quebec to authorize the appointment of a third-party arbitrator to continue discussions.

The arbitrator can recommend that the Minister of Municipal Affairs impose a collective agreement.

“After two comprehensive offers and setbacks, we must face the facts: we are at an impasse,” Léonard said Wednesday.

“The latest discussions offered no progress on some of the normative clauses, demanded enormous concessions and even backtracking on elements that had already been agreed upon,” she added.

The CSN-affiliated union representing some 2,400 maintenance workers said the move showed a lack of engagement on the STM’s part.

The CSN suspected the STM of wanting the Labour Ministry to use new powers granted under Bill 89. Critics of the law project argue it undermines collective bargaining power by allowing the government to unilaterally end a strike.

“We are making several efforts to move the negotiations forward, but we are the only ones doing so. The STM is sitting on its hands and waiting for the government to do the dirty work by imposing our working conditions,” said union president Bruno Jeannotte. “No matter what proposals we make, it is never enough.”

The union says the main issue at hand is the STM’s use of subcontractors.

Boulet accused the workers of “penalizing those who depend on public transit” while striking.

On Wednesday morning, Boulet told reporters he is “very preoccupied” by the labour dispute and is “evaluating options.”

He said the Ministry has not received a new strike notice.

Jeannotte said having an agreement imposed on the union would lead to major discontent among employees.

“We want good working conditions, we want maintenance workers to have a career at the STM and keep public transit reliable,” he said.

The workers’ collective agreement ended in January, and negotiations have been going on for over a year.

STM maintenance workers previously went on a two-week strike in June.