The Minister of Labor, Jean Boulet, proposes to have recourse to arbitration to settle “as quickly as possible” the labor dispute which stretches out at the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery, leaving hundreds of families in the waiting to be able to bury their loved ones there for months.
“I proposed to the parties to appoint an arbitrator, who is an independent and objective person, who does his job in accordance with the Quebec Labor Code and this solution seems to me to be extremely interesting”, affirmed in a press briefing at the end Monday afternoon the Minister of Labour. He affirms that his proposal received an “extremely favorable reception from the management party” on Monday, while a “reflection” is underway on the union side, which should provide him with an answer “in the next 24 to 48 hours”. The use of an arbitrator would force the return to work of employees currently on strike at the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery. “If I appoint an arbitrator, that puts an end to the conflict,” assured the minister.
Jean Boulet traveled to Montreal on Monday to meet separately with union representatives and the employer party, when negotiations broke down between the parties to settle a labor dispute concerning the largest cemetery in Canada. For nearly seven months, the cemetery has only been accessible to visitors in rare exceptions, due to an indefinite general strike involving more than 100 maintenance and office workers. To the point where more than 700 deceased are currently waiting to be buried in this huge cemetery.
“The situation has been going on for some time, we have to find a way to resolve it as quickly as possible,” insisted the Minister of Labor. A statement shared by the spokesperson for the Association for the defense of the rights of the deceased and families of the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery, Paul Caghassi. “We are heading towards mental crises, so this is the disaster,” says the latter, who notes that thousands of grieving relatives are affected by the current strike. Many bereaved parents also demonstrated Sunday in front of the cemetery, located at the foot of Mount Royal, to demand its reopening. Last month, an agreement in principle was presented to the union party, which however rejected it, thus prolonging this labor dispute.
“When we exercise a right to strike, it is to put pressure on the parties to accept the working conditions to be included in a collective agreement, and currently this is not what the right to strike does. It hurts families, it hurts a lot of human beings, and there is an impact that is disproportionate to the issues, especially on human dignity and on people who have loved ones buried in this cemetery. there, “recognized Minister Jean Boulet on Monday.
In an interview, the Liberal MNA for Mount-Royal–Outremont, Michelle Setlakwe, welcomed the intervention of the Minister of Labor in this file which, she hopes, will contribute “to breaking the impasse” which currently prevents this cemetery from reopen its doors. “Faced with the failure of the work of the conciliators, he had to act,” said the elected official.
Impatience
In the meantime, several families are getting impatient, to the point of considering a class action against the cemetery, notes Paul Caghassi. It wouldn’t be a first either. In 2007, families filed an $8 million class action suit against the owners of the cemetery, the Fabrique de la parisienne Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, for having decreed a work stoppage that had repercussions on services. offered and on the condition of the site. These families won their case only seven years later, in 2014, when they received $1.2 million following an out-of-court settlement.
“We always talk about the rights of workers, that they have the right to go on strike and to negotiate, but we don’t talk at all about the rights of families. We have rights, that of burying our loved ones, of praying at the graves of people who are close to us. There are no rights that are worth more than others. The families have been very patient, but our rights are being abused, and this is where Minister Boulet must do something,” says Ezna Lucifero, who has been waiting six months for her father to be buried.
“Since the beginning of this strike we have been patient, even understanding. It really is time to end this. Since this strike took place, we can’t let go of our grief. We are taken hostage by this situation, it is too heavy to bear,” sighs Caroline Trahan, whose brother, father and grandparents are buried in this cemetery. “We are taken hostage by this situation, it is too heavy to bear. »
The duty tried to join the employer and union party of the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery to comment on Monday, in vain. “I appeal to the humanity of all those who are involved in this negotiation”, pleads for his part the Minister Jean Boulet.