New Montreal mayor gives deadline to end transit strike as employers ask minister to intervene

Montreal’s new mayor wants to get Metro and bus service moving again as the impasse between the STM and the maintenance workers’ union drags on.

Montreal’s incoming mayor wants to get Metro and bus service moving again as the impasse between the STM and the maintenance workers’ union stretches into another day.

Meanwhile, the provincial government isn’t ruling out using new anti-strike legislation to put an end to the labour dispute.

It comes as some businesses are struggling to get customers through the door.

On Wednesday, Montreal Mayor-elect Soraya Martinez Ferrada says she’s met with both sides and has given them 10 days to make a deal.

“Citizens are expecting them to be at the table in a very quick calendar and transparent conversation and intensive conversations to make sure that on the 15th of November there’s no strike,” said Martinez Ferrada.

Noodl co-owner Marianne Lacasse says sales dropped 70 per cent this past Saturday when there was no bus or Metro service.

The shop opened on Crescent Street in June. Lacasse says she isn’t sure if they’ll make it to the end of the month if public transit service continues to only run during rush hour.

“If there’s nobody coming downtown, then there is nobody discovering us, and then there’s nobody helping us to keep the business afloat,” she told CTV News.

Montreal’s Chamber of Commerce says it’s not the only business hurting right now, joining forces with several other economic organizations to push the government to act.

The chamber of commerce, along with the Quebec Employers Council, the Federation of Quebec Chambers of Commerce, the Greater Montreal Hotel Association, the Quebec Restaurant Association and the Montreal Arts Council, issued a joint statement on Wednesday asking the minister not to wait any longer

They want Labour Minister Jean Boulet to speed up the implementation of his law that could put an end to the strike.

The law, passed last May, is due to come into force on Nov. 30. It will allow him, if he deems that a labour dispute is causing “serious harm to the population” and when mediation between the parties has failed, to impose arbitration of the dispute.

An arbitrator would then determine the working conditions of employees on strike or locked out, effectively putting an end to the labour dispute.

In Quebec City, Boulet says he’s open to moving the date forward.

“Nothing is excluded at this point in time. And again, I rely upon the parties to keep negotiating and to find an agreement and an agreement in principle as quickly as possible,” he said.

The STM and CSN union representing the 2,400 striking employees say they’ve met this week. In a statement the union says, “We have taken steps to reach an agreement. It seems that the STM is stalling.”

For its part, the STM says “We have improved our salary offer thanks to self-financing options,” adding if there is no agreement soon, all options are open, including appointing an arbitrator.

The public transit agency said early Wednesday evening that a meeting between mediators, the STM, and the maintenance workers’ union was scheduled for Thursday.

“Meetings have been held in recent days between the two parties in an attempt to break the deadlock,” the STM said in a statement on social media.

“Please note that the negotiation schedule is dictated by the team of mediators and that this is a confidential process that we must respect. The STM is fully committed to reaching an agreement as quickly as possible.”

With files from The Canadian Press