City, engineers near agreement
The city of Montreal and the union representing its engineers and scientists are close to working out a new collective agreement, the city announced on Friday. The city said an agreement in principle has been reached between the two sides. Most of the 440 engineers, chemists, surveyors and veterinarians covered under the union had walked off the job at midnight last Monday after not having a collective agreement for the last five years. The Syndicat professionel des scientifiques à pratique exclusive de Montréal (SPSPEM)
held different protests this week, including a march down St-Denis St. that ended at city hall, where members used a soil compactor to pulverize construction hard hats. Members had voted 92 per cent in favour of an unlimited strike, the first time since 1963 the union has called for a major work stoppage. The agreement came after a negotiation blitz took place this week in the presence of a mediator, the city said. “It’s positive news,” Montreal executive committee chairman Pierre Desrochers said in a statement. “After a work stoppage, the parties committed themselves to discussing and negotiating. We managed to find a common ground by working together.”