Two weeks after the ice storm that caused significant damage in the Montreal area, the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery remains closed. The labor dispute is delaying the cleaning of the place, several paths remaining blocked.
“Thousands of trees were shattered by the ice and wind on April 5 and despite our repair and site cleanup work, many of the 33 kilometers of cemetery paths are still blocked by trees and branches that present a significant danger for visitors, ”says the administration of the cemetery, in a press release published on Tuesday.
Saying they are “saddened by the situation”, the management, which had reopened the cemetery at the end of March, maintains that “several branches, broken by the ice, threaten to fall at any time, which represents an additional risk for visitors. “.
The cemetery, whose employees are still on strike to obtain better working conditions, claims to have invited “through the conciliator” the union to “accept a truce” in order to “secure the site” as quickly as possible . “Unfortunately, our proposal was refused by the union”, maintains the management.
“Given the exceptional damage caused by this ice storm, we continue to invite our union partners to help us reopen the Cemetery for the families of the deceased as soon as possible,” she insists.
“It could be quick”
On the side of the Union of workers of the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery, the president Patrick Chartrand denounces the attitude of the management. “With what remains to be negotiated, I think it could be quick if the employer really wants to settle. Here is the problem. There, we are trying to find a way to put the problem back on us, the bad union members, ”he insists.
“We want to go back to work, but with a new agreement. The employer wants to put the saw in our working conditions. We have an employment floor of 62 regulars, they want to lower it to 47. We cannot accept that, ”continues Mr. Chartrand, who pleads for at least “the status quo”. “We would be comfortable with just maintaining our achievements,” he said.
There are no real negotiations, it does not move, there is no exchange of ideas. We do not feel good faith to resolve the situation.
Patrick Chartrand, union president
Until the reopening, bereaved families will continue to be welcomed “by appointment, for cremation and crypt burial services,” says management. However, burials of coffins in the field will have to be postponed to a later date. “We will announce the reopening of the cemetery as soon as the site is secure”, we are assured.
Recall of facts
Office workers at the cemetery have been on strike since last September, and field workers since January. Recently, users of the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery had also deplored that they were not able to bury the ashes of their deceased loved ones. In August, in an article by The Pressthe union had attributed the situation to the glaring lack of personnel.
Given the strike, weeds are also invading certain parts of the cemetery. In places, the tombs disappear completely under the wild vegetation. “It’s awful,” said Debra Czop last spring, both knees in the ground. For half an hour, with her mother, Anne Czop, she had been cleaning the small quadrangle around the family tomb.
Last year, 26 employees – mostly maintenance positions – were laid off. The employer had justified its decision by “financial problems”, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic had just upset the budgets of many companies. The unions have been negotiating with the employer for five years. Cemetery employees have therefore been without an employment contract since December 2018.