Possible school bus strike by La Montréalaise drivers in Quebec
Posted October 29, 2024 10:19 am.
Last Updated October 29, 2024 10:20 am.
La Montréalaise school bus drivers associated with Transport scolaire Sogesco adopted two pressure tactics that could go as far as an unlimited general strike on Monday.
These two strike mandates were adopted by more than 95 per cent of the the Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleurs des Autobus La Montréalaise-CSN (STTALM–CSN) and the Syndicat des travailleurs et travailleurs des Autobus La Montréalaise-Division Montréal (STTALM–DM–CSN).
“Sogesco’s latest offers at the negotiating table indicate that its senior management is continuing its strategy of sustainably impoverishing its employees in order to line its own pockets,” said Carole Laplante, president of the school transportation sector of the FEESP–CSN.
She says she believes that the ongoing problems to attract and retain workers are caused by the low wages being offered.
“While the two divisions recently lost seven routes due to service disruptions linked to a lack of drivers, the employer persists in offering salary conditions that completely ignore this issue,” said Laplante.
Fédération des employées et employées de services publics-CSN Vice-President Josée Dubé said that Sogesco has received approximately 25 per cent more on each contract that they’ve signed since 2022.
“The government has said it more than once, part of this money must go to drivers in order to guarantee service to students and parents,” said Dubé. “For its part, as of 2022, Sogesco’s senior management received increases of $114,907, $114,770, and $66,187, which brought the annual salaries of the two most senior executives to more than half a million dollars. In short, with public money, Sogesco has greatly enriched its executives, while offering crumbs to those who enrich them.”
