Striking STM bus drivers take to the streets, union says more strike days possible

As buses and Metros ground to a complete halt in Montreal on Saturday for a 24-hour period, some of the roughly 4,500 striking workers including bus drivers, Metro operators and station agents, held a demonstration in the downtown core.

Speaking to reporters outside the Palais des congrès, Frédéric Therrien, president of the Syndicat des chauffeurs, opérateurs et employés des services connexes  — the union representing the workers — reiterated that two more strike days on Nov. 15 and 16 would be going forward unless there's progress at the negotiation table.

The union is looking for better working conditions and better wages. Therrien said 50 per cent of the workers who are on leave are absent due to psychological reasons. They're tired and under a lot of pressure, he said.

Therrien maintains that the union is in "solution mode" but stated that at this point, the solution will come at a cost.

By "not providing service in Montreal, we know that it complicates the situation and that people won't be happy with the situation, but we had reached that point," Therrien said, adding that previous pressure tactics had been taken in a way that would not inconvenience public transit users.

Therrien also pointed out that Saturday's 24-hour work stoppage was the first strike by the bus drivers' union in 38 years.

"It's important for the public to know that we are fighting for them too today. We are not just fighting for our wage conditions, but for the quality of public transportation in Montreal," he said.

Patrick Gloutney, president of the Quebec branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, blamed both the City of Montreal and the Quebec government for the current situation, saying public transit is underfunded.

"It is certainly not by cutting services to the population that we will improve the services we provide to the population," said Gloutney.

On Friday, the Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) said a negotiation blitz with the drivers’ union was underway, and mutual solutions and efficiency measures had been identified allowing for the self-financing of wage improvements.

But even if a deal is reached with the drivers' union, some 2,400 maintenance workers with the Syndicat du Transport de Montréal continue to strike, with bus and Metro services reduced to rush hour in the morning and afternoon, as well as late-night hours until Nov. 28.

Tasha Lackman, the executive director of the Depot Community Food Centre in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, said although she recognizes the importance of workers' right to strike, this month-long action could have a "really negative impact" on the most vulnerable people, who rely on public transportation.

Many of the centre's hours are not during rush hours, which means many people won't be able to get to the organization, according to Lackman.

"We saw in the last strike that what happened was during the time where there wasn't public transportation, it was a little bit slower. And then when the transportation came up, there was a bottleneck of people who had missed earlier appointments or who weren't able to come in for their food baskets at that time," said Lackman.