Municipal workers in the Town of Saint-Constant, Quebec, represented by CUPE 2566, will be striking on July 18-19, 2024. This will affect the vast majority of the Town’s services and will include the closure of the municipal day camp. Strikers will be displaying their discontent by picketing from 7:30 am to noon in front of the hotel at 147 rue Saint-Pierre.
“The conciliation process has been suspended for the time being, and the mayor is not answering our calls. Leadership must be shown and the sulking must end if we hope to get an agreement. Since we’re not being listened to, we had no choice but to take strike action to make our voices heard. The Town of Saint-Constant has been stepping up attacks on its staff, among others, by using the current conflict as a rationale for contracting out. By turning to the private sector, he Town is going down the wrong path,” said Mathieu Viau, president of CUPE 2566.
Contrary to claims made by representatives of the town in a press release published last week, the union made several concessions during conciliation. Unfortunately, this did not move the employer off its previously held positions. Given the impasse, the conciliator was forced to suspend conciliation for an indeterminate period with no scheduled date to resume the process.
In addition to issues relating to wages and purchasing power, union members are working to limit contracting out. The Town of Saint-Constant recently announced that it had issued a 4-year snow removal management contract to an outside company, which is sure to drive up the bill for this service. It would thus come as no surprise to see these added costs show up on the citizens’ municipal tax bills.