Montreal protest unites thousands of public-sector workers

Thousands of public-sector workers and their supporters gathered in Montreal on Saturday to put pressure on the province to renew their collective agreements.

The protest began at the foot of Mount Royal at 12:30 p.m., and wound through downtown Montreal before reaching Premier Philippe Couillard's office on Sherbrooke Street.

More than 225 busloads of people from Quebec regions outside of Montreal arrived in the city early Saturday.

At the start of the march, CSN union-federation president Jacques Létourneau promised the pressure tactics would only increase if the government refuses to budge on its cost-cutting measures.

More than 170,000 of the CSN's members are affected by failed collective agreement negotiations, many of them working in the province's health care and social services departments.

"We believe in negotiation. We think we're able to come to a negotiated agreement, but it's clear that if the government refuses to budge — as it has for the past year — the mobilization will continue," Létourneau said.

Public-sector employees are being offered a salary freeze for two years, followed by three years of one-per cent pay increases. The "common front," as the group calls itself, of public and semi-public workers across departments and professions are asking for raises of 4.5 per cent per year over three years.

Martine Robert, negotiator responsible for APTS — the union of professionals and technicians in public health and social services — said civil servants are fed up with the offers they're being presented, and they want the government to know it.

"Instead of moving forward, we're moving backward. They're not listening to what our members want. We have solutions. We gave them solutions to have the workers every day. They don't listen do that," Robert said.

FTQ union-federation president Daniel Boyer said, based on his previous experiences, further disruptive actions would be necessary to propel the government into action.

Saturday's protest comes after teachers at school after school in the province have voted in overwhelming numbers to take strike action.

"To date, these strike mandates are very strong. The assemblies are crowded. We're not talking about strike mandates with 51 per cent or two-thirds of the vote. These strike mandates are at 85, 90, 95 per cent. The goal is not to go on strike, it's not to use pressure tactics — it's to negotiate.

"We are asking Mister Coiteux (Martin Coiteux, the president of the Treasury Board) to give his negotiators mandates, because we're done fooling around. It's done. Otherwise, we'll act on the mandates we have," Boyer said. 

He said there will likely be more economically disruptive activities planned over the coming days.