Maintenance employees of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) are raising their voices and denouncing that discussions have been “at a standstill” for several months on the issue of subcontracting, too often used by management according to their union. .
“Despite our various interventions, the STM continues to turn a deaf ear by not responding to our emails, by not answering our questions, and by canceling our meetings on the subject at the last minute,” hammered a door-keeper on Tuesday. word of the Syndicat du transport de Montréal (CSN), Simon-Pierre Robillard, during question period at the municipal council.
He was speaking directly to the chairman of the company’s board of directors, Éric Alan Caldwell, who is also a municipal councilor in Valérie Plante’s team.
At the beginning of May, The Press reported that the maintenance workers’ union has seen a gradual increase in contracting out in recent months. In particular, contracts for inspection and repair totaling $700,000 and $500,000 were given. Result: today, about 25% of inspections are done externally, or about sixty out of more than 215 annually.
Employees also worry about the discontinuation of production and remanufacturing of bus brake calipers in-house two years ago, and the excess cost of replacing transmissions, which are “often” restored outside for a few months.
Accounts required
By deploring that “communications are at a standstill”, Mr. Robillard notably demanded accountability from Mr. Caldwell. “What does the administration intend to do concretely and quickly in order to force discussions between the parties to deal with the issues in dispute, and thus stop the waste of millions of dollars in public funds and force the company to respect the conventions? ? “, he asked him, for example.
“The work force of your union and the STM employees, who allow us to put buses and metros on the roads, is tremendous. Your contribution is recognized,” Mr. Caldwell replied.
Insisting on the importance of “having places of exchange”, the elected official however assured that a meeting was planned for Wednesday between the president of the Syndicate of transport and the director general of the STM, Marie-Claude Léonard. “It will be maintained, so let’s bet precisely on the discussions to arrive at having this place of dialogue”, raised Mr. Caldwell.
However, Wednesday’s meeting “is not at all related to privatization”, but is rather an interview planned for “a long time” on “other subjects”, insisted Mr. Robillard. “The meetings planned in connection with the privatization have been systematically canceled for the last five months,” he insisted.
“That said, as they are talking to each other tomorrow, let’s bet on this dialogue to allow for this place of exchange”, then reiterated Mr. Caldwell, without going any further.