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Transit talks at impasse
Midnight deadline. 'Situation fragile,' union boss says as MTC warns of long walkout
WILLIAM MARSDEN
The Gazette
Monday, May 21, 2007
Montrealers are facing an almost certain island-wide transit strike as zero hour nears with tonight's midnight deadline and no settlement of key wage and pension demands in sight.
Pierre Saint-Georges, president of the union of 2,142 mechanics and maintenance workers, said yesterday the talks are basically stalled - with the conciliator asking for more information from the Montreal Transit Corp.
"Everything is still on the table," said Saint-Georges, whose Confederation des syndicats nationaux represents the workers.
"I don't want to say yes or no if a strike is certain. There's still time before the launch of the strike. I know that it's getting late."
Saint-Georges said the MTC is not negotiating in good faith because yesterday it added fresh demands to a list it presented three months ago.
"We're going backwards," Saint-Georges said. "It's really a fragile situation."
He refused to give details of the new demands and the MTC would not comment.
"There is nothing more to say at this moment," said Isabelle Tremblay, a spokesperson for the MTC. "They are still going on with negotiations."
The talks have been conducted since Tuesday through Quebec Labour Department conciliator Jean-Pierre Gosselin.
The transit workers will meet in Anjou at 7 tonight, when their leaders will present either a settlement or announce that the strike is on as of 12:01 a.m.
The MTC is refusing to buckle to union demands it says will cost the transit authority $60 million. MTC chairperson Claude Trudel has warned Montrealers to prepare themselves for a long walkout.
Key issues remaining to be settled include wage increases and pension fund parity.
The transit commission is seeking a five-year contract with a wage freeze for this year and then a two-per-cent increase each of the next four years. The workers now earn between $22 and $25.78 an hour or an average of about $50,835 a year - or $54,414 with overtime.
The MTC says a $22-million shortfall this year has eliminated the possibility of a wage hike.
The union is demanding a three-year contract with two-per- cent increases plus a cost-of-living protection during each of those years, which could add another one to three per cent a year to their wage demands.
The union says its members are underpaid compared with colleagues in the private sector, who, it says, make about $2 to $4 more an hour. The union notes that Laval transit workers recently received an annual increase of 2.5 per cent, as well as improved pension benefits.
The transit workers want pension parity for younger members, who, under a new pension regime, will have to wait longer for their pensions than their older colleagues.
The MTC's new regime increases retirement eligibility to 35 years from 30 and reduces benefits for those retiring after 2019. The union wants a return to the old regime.
The mechanics and maintenance workers last went on strike in November 2003.
A strike, however, will not cripple the system, and most Montrealers are expected to have little trouble getting to and from work. The Essential Services Council ordered the union to operate the usual 1,281 city buses and 74 metro trains from 6 to 9 a.m., 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Disabled Montrealers will still get special services of about 7,500 rides per day.
Some students, however, will have to find other means of getting to school. The MTC's 400 daily shuttle trips for students at some schools will be cancelled.
Also affected will be the 21st annual Montreal Museums Day. If a strike continues into Sunday, the usual MTC fleet that shuttles visitors between museums free between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. will have to stay off the roads. People will have to make their own way from museum to museum. Admission, however, will still be free.
Workers will not receive strike pay because they will earn more than $200 a week fulfilling the essential services mandate.
Transit talks at impasse
Midnight deadline. 'Situation fragile,' union boss says as MTC warns of long walkout
WILLIAM MARSDEN
The Gazette
Monday, May 21, 2007
Montrealers are facing an almost certain island-wide transit strike as zero hour nears with tonight's midnight deadline and no settlement of key wage and pension demands in sight.
Pierre Saint-Georges, president of the union of 2,142 mechanics and maintenance workers, said yesterday the talks are basically stalled - with the conciliator asking for more information from the Montreal Transit Corp.
"Everything is still on the table," said Saint-Georges, whose Confederation des syndicats nationaux represents the workers.
"I don't want to say yes or no if a strike is certain. There's still time before the launch of the strike. I know that it's getting late."
Saint-Georges said the MTC is not negotiating in good faith because yesterday it added fresh demands to a list it presented three months ago.
"We're going backwards," Saint-Georges said. "It's really a fragile situation."
He refused to give details of the new demands and the MTC would not comment.
"There is nothing more to say at this moment," said Isabelle Tremblay, a spokesperson for the MTC. "They are still going on with negotiations."
The talks have been conducted since Tuesday through Quebec Labour Department conciliator Jean-Pierre Gosselin.
The transit workers will meet in Anjou at 7 tonight, when their leaders will present either a settlement or announce that the strike is on as of 12:01 a.m.
The MTC is refusing to buckle to union demands it says will cost the transit authority $60 million. MTC chairperson Claude Trudel has warned Montrealers to prepare themselves for a long walkout.
Key issues remaining to be settled include wage increases and pension fund parity.
The transit commission is seeking a five-year contract with a wage freeze for this year and then a two-per-cent increase each of the next four years. The workers now earn between $22 and $25.78 an hour or an average of about $50,835 a year - or $54,414 with overtime.
The MTC says a $22-million shortfall this year has eliminated the possibility of a wage hike.
The union is demanding a three-year contract with two-per- cent increases plus a cost-of-living protection during each of those years, which could add another one to three per cent a year to their wage demands.
The union says its members are underpaid compared with colleagues in the private sector, who, it says, make about $2 to $4 more an hour. The union notes that Laval transit workers recently received an annual increase of 2.5 per cent, as well as improved pension benefits.
The transit workers want pension parity for younger members, who, under a new pension regime, will have to wait longer for their pensions than their older colleagues.
The MTC's new regime increases retirement eligibility to 35 years from 30 and reduces benefits for those retiring after 2019. The union wants a return to the old regime.
The mechanics and maintenance workers last went on strike in November 2003.
A strike, however, will not cripple the system, and most Montrealers are expected to have little trouble getting to and from work. The Essential Services Council ordered the union to operate the usual 1,281 city buses and 74 metro trains from 6 to 9 a.m., 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. Disabled Montrealers will still get special services of about 7,500 rides per day.
Some students, however, will have to find other means of getting to school. The MTC's 400 daily shuttle trips for students at some schools will be cancelled.
Also affected will be the 21st annual Montreal Museums Day. If a strike continues into Sunday, the usual MTC fleet that shuttles visitors between museums free between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. will have to stay off the roads. People will have to make their own way from museum to museum. Admission, however, will still be free.
Workers will not receive strike pay because they will earn more than $200 a week fulfilling the essential services mandate.
