Maintenance employees for Montreal’s public transit authority voted 86 per cent in favour of a mediator’s recommendation during a general assembly Sunday.
This vote ends more than two years of negotiations, during which several days of strike action took place, affecting the entire Société de transport de Montréal (STM) network at times.
The agreement includes a 17.5 per cent wage increase over five years for trades workers and 16 per cent over five years for support staff. It also features enhancements to time accumulation and compensatory leave, along with improvements to the grievance and arbitration process.
The union said it successfully blocked the majority of the employer’s requested rollbacks, specifically regarding subcontracting. Union officials noted in a news release that negotiations occurred in a difficult climate due to what they described as chronic underfunding of public transit by the government.
“The least we can say is that this negotiation was not easy,” said Bruno Jeannotte, president of the Syndicat du transport de Montréal–CSN.
“Throughout the negotiations, we faced an employer that was closed off and a government disinterested in public transit.”
STM director general Marie-Claude Léonard said she was satisfied with the outcome of the vote.
“We made the choice to prioritize a negotiated agreement, which is always preferable for preserving good labour relations,” Léonard said.
The STM had previously reached agreements with its three other major unions representing 4,500 bus drivers and Metro operators, 1,300 administrative and technical employees, and 800 professionals.
With elections approaching, the CSN is calling on political parties to commit to increased public transit funding, the union said in a news release. Its campaign, Faire front pour le Québec, is continuing across the province with actions planned May 1 and 2.
According to Bertrand Guibord of the Montreal central council, more than half of Metro stations are in poor condition, underscoring the need for investment.
“The governments will have to do more to give STM workers the means to properly maintain infrastructure and act for the future of the planet,” Guibord said.