The strike is over at the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery. Maintenance of graves and facilities will resume next Monday, after months of conflict left hundreds of families unable to grieve.
Members of the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery operations union approved a tentative agreement on Thursday that renews their collective agreement, cemetery officials said in a statement. “This decision will allow the cemetery’s activities to resume. »
The maintenance of the place will resume on Monday, and will be considered a priority “the cleaning of the land as well as certain operational needs”.
The strike of more than 100 maintenance and office workers kept the wrought iron gates closed from mid-January, except for a few days in the spring. The labor dispute left more than 300 bodies unburied.
Families awaiting burial will be contacted shortly to arrange details of arrangements.
Quebec Labor Minister Jean Boulet interfered in the dispute earlier this week by appointing a mediator. His work paid off. The tentative agreement would have been accepted by 83% of union members, according to the minister.
Congratulations to the parties for the agreement in principle accepted at 83% for the employees of the general unit of the NDN cemetery. I salute the commitment of the conciliators of the @Mtrav. The resumption of activities at the cemetery will make it possible to meet the needs of bereaved families.@laCSN
— Jean Boulet (@JeanBoulet10) July 13, 2023
The new collective agreement will expire on December 31, 2027.
At the time of writing, neither side had responded to requests for clarification from the Duty.
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