Montreal bus, metro drivers vote in favour of new deal with transit agency
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Monthly Digital Subscription
$0 for the first 4 weeks*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*No charge for 4 weeks then price increases to the regular rate of $19.00 plus GST every four weeks. Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.
Monthly Digital Subscription
$4.75/week*
- Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
- Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
- Access News Break, our award-winning app
- Play interactive puzzles
*Billed as $19 plus GST every four weeks. Cancel any time.
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $16.99 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $23.99 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
MONTREAL – Bus and metro drivers have voted in favour of an agreement reached with Montreal’s public transit agency as other unionized public transit workers engage in overtime strikes expected to last into the new year.
The union representing the 4,500 bus drivers, metro operators, and station agents — the largest of the six unions at the agency — voted on Sunday.
“Our goal was to ensure that our members are paid fairly, taking into account comparable salaries in the area, as well as the rising cost of living we are all facing, and we believe we have succeeded,” said Frédéric Therrien, president of Local 1983 of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, in a statement.
As negotiations lagged, its members walked out for one day on Nov. 1, the first strike by drivers in nearly 40 years. They were prepared to strike again in mid-November before the agreement was struck.
The dispute concerned wages, schedules, and work-life balance and the deal included a 17.5 per cent wage increase over five years.
“This concludes a negotiation that wasn’t easy, and we are proud of the outcome under the circumstances,” Therrien said.
Separately, 1,300 administrative and technical employees have also ratified their own tentative agreement.
Marie-Claude Léonard, the CEO of the agency, has said there are limited public funds available to grant generous wage increases. She has also said the agency needs to find $56 million in savings in its budget.
The agency is still negotiating with 2,400 unionized transit maintenance workers who started refusing to work overtime last Thursday.
The refusal to work overtime is the fourth labour disruption for maintenance workers since the beginning of the year.
Also Monday, the union representing professionals, such as engineers, analysts, architects, IT consultants, planning, infrastructure, and finance departments, have announced an overtime strike, the first in their 31-year history.
Both strikes will run until Jan. 11.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 15, 2025.