Warning message

Please note that this page is from our archives. There may be more up-to-date content about this topic on our website. Use our search engine to find out.

Quebec City, Thursday, June 12, 2014 – The Coalition syndicale pour la libre négociation [Union Coalition for Free Negotiation] reacted with anger to today’s filing of Bill 3 on pension plans. According to this coalition of nearly all the municipal employees in Quebec, the bill would significantly reduce revenues of current and future retirees, in addition to violating the principle of free collective bargaining  “in numerous ways.”

The worst fears of the Coalition have materialized: retroactive changes, a forced cap on employer contributions, compulsory cost splitting, no automatic indexation of benefits, forced restructuring of healthy plans, etc.

“What we have here is a bill that is excessive and totally biased. This is the worst scenario of an “across-the-board” bulldozer bill and a rigid framework. In no way does it reflect the discussions we’ve had with Minister Moreau. He is characterizing this bill as an ‘incentive for negotiation’ when it is clearly an incentive for confrontation,” said Coalition spokesperson Marc Ranger.

“This is a sad day for labour relations in Quebec’s municipal sphere. The government is blindly obeying those who dramatize the situation and shovel problems onto the National Assembly that should be resolved through negotiation within the municipalities. It would be hard to be more heavy-handed or coercive,” said Ranger.

For the rest of the year, the Coalition will redouble its efforts to mobilize municipal employees and make the Quebec government listen to reason. “We have not yet had our say. Our members refuse to be treated like scapegoats by alarmist politicians whose pensions are considerably better than theirs,” concluded Ranger.

Launched on March 20, with the motto “Negotiation, not confrontation!”, the Coalition comprises a total of more than 65,000 members: white collars, blue collars, firefighters, police officers, professionals and employees of transportation companies. It represents virtually all unionized municipal employees in Quebec. It is categorically opposed to any bill that would undermine the fundamental right to free negotiation on the issue of pensions.

On May 21, more than 12,000 members of the Coalition demonstrated outside the National Assembly. On April 24, more than 2,500 demonstrated outside the headquarters of the Union of Quebec Municipalities (UMQ) in Montreal. On April 15, 1000 delegates from various unions met at the Montreal Convention Centre. They unanimously adopted a resolution opposing any “bulldozer bill” that would impose “across-the-board” provisions and block free negotiation.

The Coalition consists of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE-Québec) and its Municipal Sector Provincial Council as well as its ground transport sector, the Fédération des employées et employés de services publics (FEESP-CSN), the Fédération indépendante des syndicats autonomes (FISA), the Fédération des policiers et policières municipaux du Québec, the Association des pompiers de Montréal, the Regroupement des associations de pompiers du Québec, and the Syndicat des pompiers et pompières du Québec – FTQ.