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Westmount blue-collar workers to strike for a week

“The citizens of Westmount must know that if we don't pay workers properly, services will suffer,” says union president Jean-Pierre Lauzon.

Westmount blue collar workers demonstrate outside city hall
Westmount blue-collar workers demonstrate on Sherbrooke St. outside Westmount city hall on the first day of a three-day strike, Tuesday March 14, 2023. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette files

Blue-collar workers in Westmount will be on strike for a week starting Thursday.

The 124 members of the Syndicat des cols bleus regroupés de Montréal — a local branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) affiliated with the FTQ — had already walked out for two days, then three days, in recent months.

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Visibly dissatisfied with the outcome of negotiations for the renewal of their collective agreement with the city, they decided to strike for a week, starting June 1. And this will coincide with the first heat wave of the season.

The strike mandate, which the union members voted for last November, is one of the pressure tactics that can go as far as an indefinite strike.

The parties have already begun a conciliation phase. The collective agreement expired on Dec. 31, 2019.

The main issues in the dispute relate to wages and working hours.

“The citizens of Westmount must know that if we don’t pay workers properly, services will suffer. And with the arrival of the summer season, it would be a shame not to be able to enjoy all the beauty of the city,” said union president Jean-Pierre Lauzon.

“The city tells us it is in good financial shape, so why not share a little with the men and women who proudly serve the city of Westmount?”

Westmount Mayor Christina M. Smith had already said she respected the right of city employees to strike during a previous blue-collar walkout.

“My wish is that the discussions and negotiations take place around the negotiating table, and not in the public space or the media, and that they are based on facts,” she said at the time.

She then denied that she was not open to changes in work schedules in order to facilitate work-life balance.

Regarding wages, she had noted that “the union believes that the current offer is too low, but it must take into account the current market in these employment sectors.”

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