STM: 800 professionals consider strike authorization

The union representing 800 professionals at the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) is considering strike authorization if negotiations with the STM are unsuccessful.

The parties have just begun mediation in the hope of resolving the dispute over the renewal of the collective agreement.

The maintenance workers’ union has already walked off the job twice, in June and then in September-October, and the bus drivers’ and metro operators’ union has already obtained a strike mandate, but has not yet exercised it.

The union representing professionals includes engineers, architects, analysts, and consultants, for example.

Mediation began on Wednesday, while negotiations began about a year ago. The collective agreement expired last January.

The main issue is the use of subcontractors, as is the case for the union representing maintenance workers.

In an interview on Friday, Benoît Tessier, vice-president of the union, stated that the STM already has sufficient flexibility in the current collective agreement to open temporary positions for specific projects.

According to him, using private engineering firms would cause the STM to lose its expertise, in addition to potentially making it dependent on these firms, which cost more than its own staff.

The STM has already explained that it is in a difficult, even “unprecedented” financial situation and that it needs to obtain greater flexibility from its employees in order to reduce costs while maintaining service.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews