Maintenance workers at the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) have announced new strike dates for Oct 31 to Nov. 28.
On Tuesday, the Syndicat du transport de Montréal-CSN (CSN), which represents 2,400 maintenance employees, issued the strike notice and said “after more than 115 negotiation meetings, the STM remains fixed in its positions and refuses to add the necessary people to the table to reach an agreement.”
“There is so much to do to properly maintain the metros and buses,” said Stéphanie Gratton, Vice-President of the Fédération des employées et employés de services publics-CSN (FEESP-CSN).
“When people use public transit, they want to count on quality service,” she added. “It’s absolutely essential to maintain good working conditions to achieve this and not open the door wide to the private sector.”
The union argues that this third strike since June “once again becomes necessary in the face of the STM’s senseless inflexibility.”
Adding that “every move the union makes at the bargaining table is met with a cold shoulder by the transit authority.”
Two other strikes were previously held by STM maintenance workers this year: from June 9 to 17, and more recently from Sept. 22 to Oct. 5.
The strike, scheduled to begin on the night of Oct. 31 to Nov. 1, will take the form of a refusal to work overtime, combined with occasional service disruptions, but outside of rush hours — this like with the second strike, in September-October.
Labor Minister Jean Boulet recently appointed a team of four conciliator-mediators to attempt to bring the parties together. Mediation is ongoing.
The dispute concerns wages and the use of subcontracting.
CityNews reached out to the STM and awaits for a response.
—With files from The Canadian Press, first published in French and translated by CityNews
