The Society of Transport of Montreal's (STM) 4,500 bus drivers, metro operators and station agents will strike on November 1, 8 and 9, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 1983 confirmed Wednesday.
• Also read: New strike by STM service personnel, lasting most of November
• Also read: A strike by STM bus drivers and metro operators seems inevitable
• Also read: STM bus drivers and operators announce imminent strike
“We have provided all possible opportunities for negotiations (…) it is clear that the employer is no longer looking for new solutions to find a common language,” said Frederic Therrien, president of the union. in a press release.
This will be the first strike of this kind in 38 years. However, paratransit service will be retained.
Billboards were erected in several Montreal neighborhoods last week announcing an imminent strike, without specifying dates. Since then, negotiations between the union and the STM have intensified, but no agreement has been reached.
CUPE in particular calls for more humane work schedules and an end to unpaid work hours, which are still tolerated in public transport companies reporting to the Regional Metropolitan Transport Authority (ARTM).
“We intend to continue negotiations on an ongoing basis, but if this first strike does not bring results, there will be others (…) It is not normal that no negotiating table is settled. The problem cannot be in all unions. There is only one common denominator here, and that is the STM,” Mr. Therrien concluded.
The transport company has not yet responded to the announcement, which risks severely disrupting travel in Montreal.
This strike is in addition to the one that has already been announced by the maintenance staff most of November.
