What users and organizers of the Festival d’été de Québec feared is now a reality: the drivers of the Réseau de transport de la Capitale (RTC) have officially been on strike since this morning.
If nothing is clarified by then, Quebec public transport users will have to cope differently for two long weeks, including the eleven days of the most important event of the summer in the old capital.
• Also read: The potential strike by RTC drivers is a cause for concern
• Also read: RTC Negotiations: Each side blames the other
Despite the strike announcement 25 days ago, the parties were ultimately unable to reach an agreement in the last negotiations.
The employers’ party confirmed early on Saturday that members of the Union of Public Transport Employees of Metropolitan Quebec inc. went on strike from July 1st to 16th inclusive.
Unless there is an agreement, activities are scheduled to resume on Monday 17 July.
“We have made the necessary efforts to reach an agreement but unfortunately the clock has struck. “We have been without a contract for more than a year and the union reminds the employer that the deadline for a satisfactory agreement is June 30,” said Hélène Fortin, president of the workers’ union, in a press release.
“In the next few hours we will hear all sorts of things, but I would like us to remember that the strike notice was sent out more than 25 days ago. It’s been a year since the matter could have been resolved by the RTC, but it hasn’t. If we are here today it is because there was a lack of will on the part of the employer,” she added.
“Citizens as Hostages”
Earlier this week, Quebec Mayor Bruno Marchand declared that the outbreak of a strike would have “catastrophic consequences” for citizens who would be literally taken hostage.
In the middle of tourist season and just days before the summer festival that will draw hundreds of thousands of people to downtown Quebec, the mayor fears the negative impact of this work stoppage.
A FEQ without public transport is “problematic”. “It makes arrival difficult, it makes exit difficult. It would be really, really, really not ideal for a lot of reasons,” he told the Journal’s pages this week.
The rematches
The 935 RTC drivers are demanding salary increases, more flexible working hours and adjustments to subcontracting.
“The aim of the union is clear: to create working conditions that meet their demands. We are in a situation of labor shortage and significant inflation. Your demands are legitimate and must be taken into account. ‘ pounded Simon Mathieu Malenfant, vice-president and treasurer of the Federation of Public Sector Employees.
Maude Mercier Larouche and Nicolas Girard, President and General Manager of the RTC respectively, attended a press conference Thursday afternoon. Photo Taieb Moalla
For his part, the Director General of the RTC, Nicolas Girard, reiterated earlier this week that the employers’ party had the will to settle the conflict as soon as possible and that the two parties were negotiating day and night to reach an agreement.