Having worked without a contract for more than four years, the Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec, white-collar workers are eager for a settlement. This is the message they will be sending on Monday, October 18, at 6:30 p.m. in front of City Hall.
According to the union, an agreement is within reach: the City just needs to agree to leave the workers’ pension plan within the group of demerged cities of Longueuil (Boucherville, Brossard, Longueuil, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville Saint-Lambert).
“Over the past year, our union has renewed collective agreements for white-collar workers in Longueuil and Saint-Lambert, in addition to obtaining agreements in principle for Brossard and Boucherville. None of these municipalities have insisted on repatriating the pension plan to their own jurisdiction. The union therefore is proposing a letter of agreement that will clearly assess the pros and cons of repatriation. This way, we hope to conclude the negotiations,” said Daniel Duval, president of CUPE 306.
The new demonstration is part of a gradual increase in pressure tactics. The white-collar workers demonstrated for the first time on September 20. A week later, at a general meeting on September 27, they voted by 87 per cent in favour of a 48-hour strike, to be launched when deemed appropriate.
The 75 white-collar workers of Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville are members of CUPE Local 306. They serve the citizens as librarians, loan officers, administrative clerks, building inspectors, recreation attendants, customer service employees, secretaries and technicians.
CUPE represents about 70 per cent of all municipal employees in Quebec. In addition to the municipal sector, CUPE is present in ten other sectors in Quebec, including health and social services, education, urban and air transport, energy, Quebec government corporations and public agencies, and communications. With a total of nearly 105,000 members in Quebec, it is the largest affiliate of the FTQ.