The Syndicat des employé(e)s de la Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) (CUPE 2929), representing more than 500 workers across the province, has announced a 48-hour strike this week, on April 19 and 20. Their collective agreement expired on March 31, 2020. Negotiations for its renewal have been progressing, but despite several meetings between the parties, discussions have still not reached an agreement.
“The Conseil du trésor is not in solution mode. The employees’ impatience has reached its peak. The employer leaves us no choice but to go on strike, since it remains insensitive to our wage demands,” said Sylvain Beaulieu, president of CUPE 2929, which represents office, technical and labour employees.
At the special general meeting held on June 9, 2022, 79% of the members approved the proposal to adopt a mandate that would allow them to take pressure tactics that could go as far as a five-day general strike.
The mission of the SQI is to support public organizations in the management of their public infrastructure projects by ensuring the planning, execution and monitoring of projects, and to develop, maintain and manage a real estate portfolio that meets the needs of ministries and organizations by providing them with construction, operation and property management services.
“The union hopes that the strike will demonstrate the motivation of the membership in the face of an employer that will not budge. We are back at the bargaining table in May for at least two dates . We would like to see some openness on the part of the employer in the face of this mobilization,” concluded the president of CUPE 2929.