After a week-long strike, legal aid lawyers in the Montreal and Laval regions have reached an agreement in principle with the government.
“This afternoon, the parties negotiated intensively in order to reach a complete agreement in principle”, can we read in an email sent by the Syndicat des avocats et avocats de l’aide juridique de Montréal et Laval affiliated to the CSN to its members.
“As of Monday, we will be at work to plan the course of the union meetings and we will call you as soon as possible to submit this agreement to you”, continues the missive. The content of the tentative agreement is “under embargo” and will be disclosed to “all regions at the same time,” says the union.
This agreement in principle constitutes an important opening, whereas the lawyers of the legal aid were without collective agreement for more than three years. In particular, they demanded pay parity with Crown prosecutors.
To make itself heard by the government, the Syndicate used drastic measures. A week ago, its members began a strike which had the effect of suspending all the services offered in the legal aid centers of Montreal, Laval, Montérégie, Laurentides, Lanaudière, Bas -Saint-Laurent and Gaspésie. In December 2022, Legal Aid lawyers held a five-day strike. They had already organized several others during the year 2022.
In its e-mail, the union maintains that the adoption of this agreement in principle “required perseverance and vigilance for our entire bargaining committee which, after three years of discussions and procrastination, has stayed the course in order to ‘obtain a satisfactory agreement’.
With Stephanie Marin
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