The Quebec-Lévis crossing paralyzed by a strike from Friday

Unless a last-minute agreement, the services of the Quebec-Lévis Traverse will be interrupted on Friday due to a strike by non-patented employees affiliated to the CSN.

The Corporate Society of Quebec (STQ) notified its customers on Wednesday that the last crossing would take place at 10:30 p.m. Thursday, from Quebec to Lévis.

The other crossings provided for the schedule are canceled from this momentspecifies the STQ in a press release.

Two touched crosspieces

The strike will also force the interruption of the services of the Matane-Baie-Comeau– Godbout cross services. The National Union of Crossings of Quebec – CSN represents approximately 200 non -patented workers assigned to these two crosspieces as well as to the Quebec Naval Repair Workshop.

Two weeks ago, its members voted 90 % in favor of pressure means which includes an unlimited bank of days of strike. The union did not specify how many days will last the work stoppage scheduled for Friday.

If we trust the STQthe strike could last 10 days since the resumption of activities in the Quebec-Lévis and Matane-Baie-Comeau-Godbout travelers is only scheduled on Monday, July 14.

This means that the service between Quebec and Lévis would be interrupted during the almost all of the Quebec Summer Festival, which will be held from July 3 to 13.

Another threat of strike, brandished by maintenance employees of the capital’s transport network, also risks complicating travel during the festival.

The parties talk to each other

Meanwhile, negotiations between the employer and the representatives of workers relating to the renewal of their collective agreement continue.

The president of the National Union of Cross-Outs of Quebec-CSN, Patrick Saint-Laurent, says that an agreement to avoid the triggering of the strike is still possible. However, he warns that the employer will have to speed up the pace of talks to reach an agreement.

We have been negotiating for two years. We haven’t had a salary increase for three years […] The employer’s part could have accelerated the pace much more so that we could arrive at an agreement before the 4th [juillet] And what we see at the negotiation table is that it will be difficultindicates Mr. Saint-Laurent in an interview with Radio-Canada.

According to him, discussions start in particular on concessions totally unacceptable that the employer requests in exchange for wage increases.

For its part, the STQ says she remains available at any time to continue negotiations and avoid the strike or any other means of pressure that would have impacts on all citizens using its services.

She recalls that navigation officers and mechanic officers of the STQaffiliated with the Metallos union, recently accepted an agreement on the renewal of their collective agreement in a proportion of 80 %.