Blue-collar workers in the city of Westmount will be on strike for a week, starting Thursday.
The 124 members of the Syndicat des cols bleus regroupés de Montréal – a local branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) affiliated with the FTQ – had already walked out for two days, then three days, in recent months.
Visibly dissatisfied with the result of the negotiations for the renewal of their collective agreement with the City, they decided to strike for a week, starting June 1. And this will coincide with the first hot days of the season.
The strike mandate in favor of which the union members voted last November is one of the means of pressure that can go as far as an indefinite strike.
The parties have already begun a conciliation phase. The collective agreement expired on December 31, 2019.
The main issues in dispute relate to wages and working hours.
“Westmount citizens need to know that if we don’t pay workers properly, services will suffer. And with the arrival of the summer season, it would be a shame not to be able to take advantage of all the beauty of the city,” commented union president Jean-Pierre Lauzon.
“The City tells us that it is in good financial health, so why not share a little with the men and women who proudly serve the City of Westmount? added Mr. Lauzon.
For her part, the mayor of Westmount, Christina M. Smith, had already said that she respected the right of city employees to strike during a previous blue-collar walkout.
“My wish is that the discussions and negotiations take place around the negotiating table, and not in the public space or the media and that they are based on facts,” she said at the time.
She then denied that she was not open to changes in work schedules in order to facilitate work-family balance.
Regarding wages, she noted that “the union feels that the current offer is lower than its expectations, but it must take into account the current market in these employment sectors”.