(Quebec) The Government of Quebec is formal: it is out of the question to adopt a special law to force the drivers of the Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) on strike to provide a minimum service.
The mayor of Quebec said Monday that he would not hesitate to ask for a special law if the strike of 935 drivers started on Saturday continued. Bruno Marchand also said that the government “will have no choice” to review its law to ensure that public transport is considered an essential service in the event of a labor dispute.
But in an interview with The Press Tuesday, the Minister of Labor closed the door to the two demands of the mayor of Quebec.
“There is no question of a special law,” says Minister Jean Boulet, who had a long career in labor law before his election under the CAQ banner in 2018.
“We will not amend our laws each time a decision disadvantages one party. We will not eliminate the exercise of the right to strike each time it is exercised,” added the Minister.
PHOTO YAN DOUBLET, LE SOLEIL ARCHIVES
Jean Boulet is instead betting on a quick settlement of this strike launched by the drivers last Saturday, until July 16. Negotiations resumed Tuesday morning. The minister claims to have appointed in this file “an experienced mediator, used to working in complex files”.
Even if he does not intend to intervene to force the drivers to provide a minimum service, the minister “finds that the proportions of this labor dispute are disproportionate to the issues”.
Since Saturday, all regular bus services in the capital have been stopped. Thousands of users have to find ways to get around. On social networks, several self-help networks have been born, where people offer and ask for carpooling. Some employers have to pay the taxi to their employees. Users with no other option even report walking for hours every day to go to work.
“I have a lot, a lot of sensitivity with regard to inconveniences, troubles and inconveniences, both human and economic,” says Jean Boulet.
hands tied
This drivers’ strike is unique insofar as they are not required to provide an essential service as in previous disputes. In the past, the Government of Quebec has adopted decrees ordering the maintenance of essential services in the event of a strike in public transport in Quebec, Montreal, Laval and Longueuil.
Changes made by the Legault government in 2019 mean that it is now the Administrative Labor Tribunal (TAT) which has the last word and must decide whether public transport is an essential service.
Administrative judge Pierre-Étienne Morand ruled on June 9 that they were not. “The public transport service provided by RTC drivers does not constitute an ‘essential service’, in the sense that it is not a service whose interruption during the strike ‘may have the effect to endanger public health or safety,” he wrote in his decision.
Minister Boulet recalls that the amendments made to the law by his government stem from court judgments.
“In 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the right to strike as an indispensable component of freedom of association. […] This is a major change in the legal landscape of Canada and Quebec. It has given rise to a restrictive interpretation of essential services, ”analyzes the Minister of Labor.
“And so, in 2019, we made the necessary changes to respect this fundamental nature of the right to strike,” he said. The process of determining essential services has been depoliticized. It’s the TAT now that does it. »
The minister did not want to comment too much on the TAT’s decision of June 9. He recalls that the RTC did not succeed in proving that the interruption of the public transport service involved a danger for the safety of the public.
“Faced with the absence of proof and demonstration that this could endanger the safety of socio-economically disadvantaged people, the TAT rendered this decision. Am I surprised? Personally, I respect the decision that was rendered, which respects the decision of the Supreme Court of Canada. »
A threat to Montreal?
The Minister admits that other cities, such as Montreal, would not be immune to a strike that completely paralyzes its public transport. But that would require employees to go on strike. And the employer could succeed this time in convincing the TAT that public transport is an essential service.
“It is certain that in Montreal, if ever we came to this circumstance, then we would study the judgment rendered by the TAT on June 9 for Quebec and we would put down our evidence accordingly,” he said.
The conflict between the RTC and its drivers stumbles above all on salary demands. The RTC has not publicly disclosed its offer or the union its demands. The negotiations which resume on Tuesday will be crucial for the Festival d’été de Québec, which begins on Thursday. Several thousand festival-goers use a shuttle service normally offered by the RTC.