White-collar workers in the City of Longueuil began a two-day strike on Wednesday morning.
These 1,200 white-collar workers are members of a local section of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which is affiliated with the FTQ. These are technicians, office workers, professionals and school crossing guards.
The City of Longueuil indicated that due to this strike of March 13 and 14, the citizen service center and administrative buildings are closed. Skating rinks and libraries are also closed. However, indoor pools are open.
However, essential services are planned, particularly for municipal emergencies and school crossing guards, CUPE said.
These white-collar workers are demanding the same conditions as those granted to the city’s blue-collar workers, namely a 10% increase in the salary scale, as well as a four-day week. The union sees this as a question of “internal equity”.
The City denies offering less to white-collar workers than to blue-collar workers.
Louis-Pascal Cyr, spokesperson for the City, explains that if the City granted the four-day week to blue-collar workers, it was for reasons of “flexibility”, since it needed to have blue-collar workers. at the regular schedule during the weekends — for snow removal, for example. The need is not the same with white-collar workers.
If CUPE sees this as a question of “internal equity” between white-collar workers and blue-collar workers, the City believes it is being equitable, offering “comparable” conditions, since the situation is different for the two groups of municipal employees.
The City continues to believe that “a negotiated solution remains possible” with CUPE, said Mr. Cyr.