At a time when some swimming pools in Quebec may not be able to offer a regular pool schedule to users due to a lack of staff, the sixty or so devoted lifeguards, monitors and cashiers working at the Terrebonne municipal pool are denouncing unfair treatment by the Town of Terrebonne and have been increasingly vocal about it.
For the past few days, pool employees, whose collective agreement expired on December 31, 2018, have been wearing shirts sporting a message intended for pool users.
Negotiations have been arduous. Though some progress has been made, talks are still bogged down on the evaluation of pay equity.
“The employer has been dragging their feet. They have just completed their pay equity evaluations for 2010 following several complaints and rulings that confirmed that they were not in compliance. The six-year period from 2015 to 2020 still remains to be evaluated. This delay in the evaluation of the maintenance of pay equity deprives employees of potential income they are entitled to,” lamented CUPE union representative Maxime Valade.
Almost all pool staff are students who are still attending school. There are only six full-time employees.
The second issue concerns the recognition of full-time employees as permanent employees, as are the town’s inside and outside workers, in order for pool staff to receive same working conditions as other municipal staff.
This inequity that lifeguards, monitors and cashiers are facing is unacceptable, and the union has announced that it will be driving home this message more forcefully in the next few weeks.