After 10 days of an indefinite general strike which paralyzed almost all public transport in Lévis, the city’s transport company and the union representing its 110 drivers have reached an agreement in principle.
The members must decide on the agreement on Friday and the strike will remain in effect until the drivers and the drivers ratify it. The two parties are stingy with comments on Thursday, preferring to first present the details to the union members before revealing them to the public.
One of the main points of contention between ST Lévis and the union remained the use of subcontracting. The hiring of a private company, Autocars des Chutes, to provide public transit service in the west of the city shocked union members, while more than a quarter of ST Lévis drivers work on call without guarantee working hours.
The drivers also demanded better pay conditions and the granting of more permanent positions.
The management of the transport company had on several occasions decried the union demands, considering them unreasonable in relation to the taxpayers’ ability to pay. After a first day of strike in November, then six days of walkout in January, the union had launched an indefinite general strike on February 13, calling on the City of Lévis to invest “seriously” in public transport on its territory.
Lévis plans to invest approximately $90 per inhabitant in the ST Lévis in 2023, or $13.6 million.
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