Montreal Transit Strike Averted with Last-Minute Union Deal

Montreal’s bus and metro services are set to continue this weekend after the city’s public transit network reached a tentative agreement with its drivers’ union, averting a planned strike.

The strike was scheduled to begin early Saturday and continue until Monday, but the Société de transport de Montréal announced late Friday that a deal had been reached. Transit users can now expect regular service throughout the weekend.

Union leaders cited deteriorating working conditions for drivers. Frederic Therrien, head of the union, said the agreement fulfills their goal of resolving the conflict at the bargaining table.

“Our goal was to reach a negotiated agreement, and we have achieved it,” Therrien said. “Now it will be up to the members to decide through the democratic structures provided for in our bylaws and regulations.”

Therrien added that no further comments will be made until the union’s roughly 4,500 bus drivers, metro operators, and station agents ratify the deal.

Marie-Claude Léonard, CEO of the Société de transport de Montréal, said the agreement includes compromises from all sides.

“I would like to thank all the teams for their work,” she said. “This important milestone also means that we can avoid another strike and significant impacts on the public, as requested by Mayor Martinez Ferrada.”

Meanwhile, the union representing about 1,300 administrative, technical, and professional employees plans a two-day strike beginning Wednesday. Quebec’s labour tribunal has ruled that 33 members must remain available on Nov. 19 to maintain public health and safety.

Earlier this week, roughly 2,400 maintenance workers suspended their month-long strike, which had limited bus and subway service to peak hours and late evenings, but the union has indicated a resolution is still far off.