CUPE 1983, representing the 4,500 bus drivers, metro operators, station agents and paratransit drivers at the Société de transport de Montréal, STM, has just announced three strike days in November 2025. Originally scheduled for November 1, 8 and 9, the strike will take place on November 1, 15 and 16 instead, due to legal constraints that prevent two strikes in such a short period.
While the strike notice for November 1 is indeed in effect as of today, the strike notices for November 15 and 16 will be issued following the first strike, as per the Labour Code.
Last week, billboards posted across Montréal announced a looming strike, without mentioning a specific date. The parties have met several times since, but have not reached an agreement.
“We gave bargaining every possible chance,” said local President Frédéric Therrien. “We started with all the other pressure tactics first. Despite many long days of negotiation and some progress, it is clear the employer is no longer looking for new solutions to find common ground.”
In particular, the union is demanding more reasonable working hours and an end to unpaid work time, which is still tolerated at the public transport corporation, which reports to the Autorité régionale de transport métropolitain, ARTM.
“We will continue bargaining full-time over the next few weeks,” concluded the local president. “If a first strike doesn’t produce results, we will hold more. If we have to go on general strike, we will. It’s not normal to get zero results from the bargaining table. Surely all the unions aren’t the problem. There’s only one common denominator here: the STM.”