Cookshire-eaton municipal employees set to strike Monday

The Central Council of the Estrie CSN and the Town of Cookshireeaton released a communiqué Wednesday announcing that municipal workers will go on an indefinite strike beginning Monday.

The unlimited strike, which begins at 7 a.m. Monday, comes during negotiations for a collective agreement and both the City and the union have agreed on the maintenance of essential services, including all emergency work on the water system as well as on public roads if the safety of citizens is deemed to be in danger.

A special agreement was also reached for the day camp and day care service that will remain in effect for the week of July 23 to 27 to limit the impact of the strike on parents, leaving them an extra week to find alternative care, should the strike continue beyond July 27.

Town General Manager Martin Tremblay remains positive about the situation and is hopeful that the situation will be settled over the next week.

"There are two points on which it all hangs. The issue of pension plans is the most important, followed by that of wages. We will do everything we can to resolve the impasse next week to prevent the dispute from dragging on," he said.

Residential garbage collection will be carried out every four weeks and commercial waste collection every two weeks for the duration of the conflict. In case of disaster or exceptional situations endangering the lives of citizens, workers will be available.