As announced in June, CUPE 1638, the union representing outside workers in Quebec City will be going out on strike from Wednesday, July 10 to Monday July 15 at 11:59 p.m.
In recent days, intensive bargaining sessions have been held between the union and Quebec City to work out a negotiated agreement without there being a need for pressure tactics.
“Although recent meetings have brought us closer together on certain issues, the two main sticking points for us remain – stable work schedules that facilitate life-work balance and wage catch-up to bring our pay into line with that received by workers in other large cities in Quebec,” explained Luc Boissonneault, president of CUPE 1638.
The union mentioned that the turnover rate of new hires is close to 33% annually and that outside workers in Quebec City are earning, on average, $5 less an hour than their counterparts in Lévis.
“Our prime objective is to provide Quebec City residents with quality service. However, to do so, we need to achieve stability and retain our workers. That is the battle that we are currently waging,” added Boissonneault.
The union also said it was open to continuing talks at the bargaining table to reach a settlement as quickly a possible to avoid extending pressure tactics into the winter when the public would be further inconvenienced by the first snowfalls.
The outside workers’ collective agreement expired on December 31, 2023, and the parties have been negotiating for more than a year and a half since February 2, 2023.