STM drivers and operators vote in favor of an agreement in principle
(Montreal) The union of bus drivers and metro operators of the Société de transport de Montréal voted Sunday in favor of the agreement in principle concluded with the state-owned company.
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“Our objective was to ensure that our members are compensated at their fair value based on neighboring comparables, but also the increase in the cost of living that we are all facing and we believe we have succeeded,” declared Frédéric Therrien, president of local 1983 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees in a press release issued Sunday evening.
The approved offer provides for a salary increase of 17.5% over five years – i.e. 2.5% in 2025, 4.5% in 2026, 3.25% in 2027 and 2028. Members will also benefit from a lump sum of 2.5% for the year 2025.
“This is what concludes a negotiation which was not simple and we are proud of the outcome in the circumstances,” added Mr. Therrien.
The union which represents the 4,500 bus drivers, metro operators and station agents is a local section of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), affiliated with the FTQ. It is also the largest of the six unions at the Société de transport de Montréal.
Its members only walked off the job for one day, on the 1stis november. It was their first day of strike in almost 40 years.
The union members were preparing to strike again, on Saturday and Sunday, November 15 and 16, while an agreement in principle was reached at the last minute, the previous Friday, to renew the collective agreement.
In their case, the dispute concerned wages, hours and work-family balance.
As it was the first union to have concluded an agreement in principle with the STM, and above all the most important, custom dictates that it was the union that paved the way for the others in terms of wages.
The second union to have reached an agreement in principle, that of the 1,300 administrative and technical employees – which is also a local section of CUPE – has already ratified its agreement in principle, in a proportion of 75%.
The general director of the STM, Marie-Claude Léonard, has already indicated that its financial framework was fixed and that it must be respected. Thus, to obtain more generous salary increases, union members had to find ways to finance them from their other working conditions.
Moreover, when the agreement in principle was reached with the bus drivers, she indicated that it “includes compromises on all sides and respects the established financial framework”.
Among the other gains listed by the union, there is “the creation of a cumulative time bank, the addition of beat time on short lines, payment for amplitude and more flexibility for work-life balance”.
The STM is facing a difficult financial situation. Mme Léonard has already said he must generate savings of 56 million in 2026.
Despite the agreement reached, Mr. Therrien denounced the lack of funding for public transportation in the province.
“The crux of the problem is underfunding. Until key stakeholders make public transit a priority, we are doomed to see history repeat itself,” he warned.
He affirmed that the union would continue to fight for a “just transition” and against “the privatization of STM paratransit.”
–With the collaboration of Samira Ait Kaci Ali
