Montreal’s blue-collar workers are announcing seven days of strike action from Sept. 22 to 28.
The strike will coincide with the Road World Championships being held in Montreal.
The action involves the city’s main blue-collar union, not just workers at Jean-Drapeau Park, whose potential strike during the cycling championships had already been raised.
About 6,000 workers are members of the Syndicat des cols bleus regroupés, a local of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, which is affiliated with the FTQ.
The union confirmed Wednesday that essential services would be maintained if the strike goes ahead.
The main issue in the dispute is compensation.
Nicolas De Ciccio, president of the affected CUPE local, said negotiations toward a new collective agreement have not broken down.
“We have just completed an intense round of negotiations, and the employer does not appear to have a clear mandate on monetary issues. The city is still offering wage increases below inflation. Montreal’s blue-collar workers provide an essential service and deserve, at the very least, serious negotiations at the table,” he said.
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada, who is facing budget pressures, has said the city has little room to manoeuvre and wants to respect residents’ ability to pay.
The blue-collar workers previously held strike days in mid-April.
At the time, the City of Montreal said essential services related to public health and safety, including water-main repairs, would continue to be provided by the city and blue-collar workers assigned to essential services.
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