STM maintenance workers say they might strike again if negotiations don't speed up

Maintenance workers with the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) are accusing the public transit operator of dragging its feet at the negotiation table and are warning of another strike in the fall, if talks don't progress faster.

Bruno Jeannotte, the president of the union representing the workers, says despite nine meetings with a Quebec-appointed mediator, the STM still hasn't presented its list of priorities. Alongside some of the 2,400 workers represented by the union, Jeannottte held a demonstration outside the STM's maintenance centre on St-Laurent Boulevard, Thursday afternoon. 

"If there's no change, the status quo remains until August, well you should effectively expect that we'll send strike notices to the labour tribunal," he said.

The workers already went on strike for six days in June, around Grand Prix weekend, as negotiations around their collective agreement, which expired in January, reached a standstill. Quebec's labour minister named a mediator three days into the strike.

Major sticking points for the union include work schedules and the STM's reliance on subcontracting.

"We want to protect everything that's done internally right now. Even if it doesn't go as smoothly as we'd like, one thing is certain: When it's done internally, we have full control," said Jeannotte.

Workers are also asking for a 25 per cent wage increase over five years. The STM has instead offered them an 11 per cent bump over the same period of time.

Philippe Jacques, the co-executive director and spokesperson for Trajectoire Québec, a public transit advocacy group, said he struggles to understand why there's talks of another strike given the involvement of a mediator.

The interruption of service in June had major impacts, and he says he's worried about the possibility of commuters going through a similar situation again.

"The essential service that was offered was clearly insufficient," he said. "We had a lot of people tell us they missed work at their own expense, they missed doctor's appointments."

The STM for its part says it's trusting the negotiation process and keeping course with a calendar set by the mediator. In an emailed statement, it said it considered talks are on the right track, especially since the mediator got involved.

According to its CEO Marie-Claude Léonard, the STM's priorities are "very clear." She said the STM needs flexibility in its schedules due to its 24/7 operations and clauses ensuring "the right person at the right place at the right time."

"We must ensure that we manage public funds responsibly. I cannot continue to increase charges, always adding more charges without having a return for my client," she said, referring to STM users.

She said she could not elaborate on the substance of the discussions so far, given the mediator asked the negotiations remain confidential.

Meetings have been happening at a rate of two to three times per week ever since the end of the worker's strike in June, the STM said in a statement. 

All parties will take a break at the end of July, while the mediator goes on vacation.