Workers at the Society for the Protection of Forests Against Fire (SOPFEU) who are represented by the Unifor union have given themselves a strike mandate to be used “at the appropriate time”.
In a statement released Friday morning, Unifor indicated that the strike mandate was 99% adopted.
The collective agreements of the workers concerned expired on 1er January 2023. According to the union, negotiations in the six local sections were closed last February, but several elements, including salaries, have not yet been resolved.
Despite the intervention of a conciliator, the union believes it is at an impasse concerning, among other things, salaries, vacations, labor mobility and the duration of the next convention.
According to Unifor’s Quebec director, Daniel Cloutier, “SOPFEU seems not to take the retention and attraction of labor seriously nor recognize the inherent dangerousness of this profession for the safety and health of those who exercise it.”
In his opinion, the Quebec government and SOPFEU management must “seriously” reconsider their positions and engage in constructive discussions to reach an agreement.
“With the dreadful 2023 season likely to recur this year and subsequent years due to global warming, our priority is to ensure fair and safe working conditions for our members who play an essential role in protecting our heritage forestry against fires and thus protect municipalities and their populations which are close to a forest area,” he argued in writing.
The Unifor union, which is affiliated with the FTQ, represents SOPFEU firefighters, communications workers, laborers and mechanics.