The drivers and drivers of the Société de transport de Lévis (STLévis) rejected on Sunday at 95% a settlement hypothesis submitted by the conciliators. The City and the union have until February 13 to reach an agreement before an indefinite general strike begins in Lévis public transit.
“Our members believe that by accepting such an offer, there are too many compromises made on our side and too little on the part of the employer”, explains in a press release the president of the drivers’ union, Alain Audet. .
The use of subcontracting still stumbles in the eyes of union members. They denounce the use of a private company, Autocars des Chutes, to provide public transport service in the west of the city of Lévis. More than a quarter of the drivers of the ST Lévis, deplores the union, currently work on demand without any guarantee of hours.
“The municipal administration of the mayor must [Gilles] Lehouillier arrives at 21e century and is seriously injecting money into its public transport, believes Barbara Poirier, president of the Conseil central de Québec-Chaudière-Appalaches-CSN. Lévis is lagging behind the rest of Quebec, there is nothing to be proud of. »
In the management camp, the disappointment is strong and the anger begins to dawn. “We cannot negotiate alone. At the level of permanence, the subcontractor, the working conditions of casual workers, salaries, the organization of work, the mediators presented proposals, underlines Michel Patry, vice-president of the board of directors of the STLevis. The union members continue to say that they are not going to give up. As long as they are not going to let go, I would be surprised if the negotiations go further. »
“The union demands are downright exaggerated,” he continues. We did the math: if we accepted all the requests, it would be around 2 or 3 million. It’s $20,000 per driver. We can’t afford that! »
STLévis drivers have been without a collective agreement since December 2021. Their union went on a one-day strike in November, then a second six-day walkout in January. Despite these means of pressure and the presence of a mediator at the negotiating table, the two camps seem far from an agreement. STLévis reiterates its desire to conclude a negotiated agreement “that respects taxpayers’ ability to pay. In its most recent budget, Lévis claims the lowest overall tax rate among the five comparable cities.
The two parties have not agreed to any new date for negotiations.