Montreal transit disrupted as STM maintenance workers begin rotating strike
Posted September 22, 2025 12:46 pm.
Last Updated September 22, 2025 4:42 pm.
Public transit in Montreal faced major disruptions Monday as nearly 2,400 maintenance workers with the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) launched a two-week strike, affecting metro and bus service three days a week until Oct. 5.
The job action follows over a year of failed negotiations between the union and STM management, with salary increases, inflation concerns, and subcontracting at the heart of the dispute.
“We’re on strike. We don’t like to be on strike,” said Caroline Senneville, president of the CSN, the union representing STM maintenance workers. “We’ve been negotiating for over a year — there have been more than 100 sessions — and the STM hasn’t budged a cent on their first offer on our salaries. For us, that’s not acceptable.”
Transit service reduced Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
On strike days — Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays — metro service runs during three limited windows: morning (6:30–9:30 a.m.), afternoon (2:45–5:45 p.m.), and late night (11 p.m. to closing).
Bus service is also reduced, though paratransit services remain fully operational.
Riders are urged to check the STM’s website for updated schedules and plan extra travel time.
‘We don’t want to get poorer’
At a press conference Monday morning, Caroline Senneville, president of the CSN, said workers were left with no choice after over a year of negotiations.
“We know it’s a disconvenient. We’re sorry, we don’t like that, but then we have to… We had to face the fact that after a year, nothing was being done, and we want to give good service, but we also want to have a pay that follows the inflation.”
“Nobody wants to get poorer every year they work. We don’t want to be poorer this year than we were the year before that.”
Senneville also criticized STM’s contract offer, saying it failed to address wage concerns or protect jobs from outsourcing.
“We want to start this new collective agreement, not poorer, than the one that’s finished now. Just keep our heads above the water. And the price of everything is going up, so should our salaries.”
Union raises concern over subcontracting
Job security is a major sticking point. Senneville warned that outsourcing essential work — like snow removal — could put transit operations at risk.
“What happens when the buses need to get out and the snow hasn’t been shoveled? You can’t just say, ‘oh, this is your job, you do it, I’m your boss, and you’re going to shovel so the buses can go out.’”
“No, you have to call a contractor, maybe on the other side of town, and the service is just not the same.”
“And once the private sector has their hands on those juicy contracts, let me tell you they make the best of it, and we don’t,” she added.
STM defends its position
The STM said it has made progress at the bargaining table, including a comprehensive offer last week. Talks continued over the weekend but made little headway.
“We made ourselves available to discuss over the weekend,” said Katherine Roux Groleau, STM’s Director of Public Affairs. “After deliberation with the mediator, it was determined that the two parties were far from reaching an agreement.”
She said over 100 meetings have taken place since March 2024, including 23 with a mediator since June.
The agency has offered a 12.5 per cent wage increase over five years, but says the union’s demands — valued at about $300 million — would require service cuts.
“If we were to fund those, we would have to cut back bus services by 10 per cent and we don’t want to do that.”
City officials weigh in
Luc Rabouin, leader of Projet Montréal and Montreal mayoral candidate, said the city respects workers’ rights to strike but urged both sides to find common ground.
“People have the right to do a strike. It’s something we have the right to do in Quebec,” Rabouin said. “We hope the conflict will be resolved as soon as possible. We need good conditions for our employees, but we also have to respect Montrealers’ ability to pay.”
Labour Minister says transit users “held hostage”
As the strike began Monday, Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet criticized the union’s tactics, accusing them of putting pressure on the public.
“The STM maintenance staff strike is once again taking hostage people who depend on public transit,” Boulet wrote on X. “Many are once again forced to urgently find alternative solutions.”
The STM provides 1.1 million trips per day and operates a fleet of 1,849 buses and 999 metro cars.
This latest strike includes a refusal to work overtime from Sept. 22 to Oct. 5, as well as rotating service interruptions three days a week. Essential services are being maintained during rush hours.
STM leadership says it has improved its communication strategy since the previous strike in June. More information is available on the STM’s website, and additional staff are on hand in stations to help riders.
Meanwhile, both parties have entered an intensive phase of negotiations, with five days of talks planned this week.
“It is imperative that negotiations continue in earnest to minimize the impact on the public,” Boulet said, noting that a mediator has been involved since June.
Union president Bruno Jeannotte defended the workers’ actions, saying they are fighting “for a reliable public service” and to preserve expertise within the STM.
The two main sticking points remain wages and subcontracting. The union argues that private outsourcing may save money short-term but often leads to higher costs and a loss of control over public services.
“The companies submit low bids to win contracts, then raise their prices,” Jeannotte said. “We fear the STM will lose staff, equipment, and expertise in the long run.”
STM general manager Marie-Claude Léonard said Friday that the two sides are still “very far from an agreement,” and reiterated the agency’s need for greater flexibility from its workforce amid a financial crisis.
Montreal mayor calls for swift resolution
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante expressed concern for commuters and urged both sides to return to the table.
“I fear for them because I do think like all the Montrealers that public transport is, should be considered an essential service,” she said Monday. “People need it to go to work, need it to go to school — so many people depend on that and they pay their pass, right?”
Plante acknowledged that public transit systems are under major financial pressure, but said that “penalizing Montrealers” through service cuts isn’t the solution.
“I still believe that it’s not acceptable to penalize Montrealers with a strike and not giving those essential services, really,” she said. “I’m just hoping… everybody [can] go back and talk and discuss.”
She also noted that while she doesn’t have inside details about the current state of negotiations, she was disappointed the union rejected the STM’s latest offer.
“All I know is that on Friday there was a proposal… and it was a big no. I find like they should go back and continue to negotiate, but not create a strike and not penalize Montrealers.”
Impact on commuters
For many Montrealers, the STM strike is more than an inconvenience — it’s a disruption to their daily routines, especially for students who rely on public transit to get to class.
“I only commute to school with metro. I use it every day, honestly. And it will affect me. I have classes everyday,” said one commuter. “So I’m going to have to arrive four or five hours before the class actually starts.”
Another student said the strike has created unexpected stress.
“Getting to classes, getting to group projects is a lot more difficult now. Especially for someone like me who comes from South Shore,” he said.
“We paid for the services. And now we cannot use the services that we paid for. Which seems very unfair to me.”
One student said the strike made it hard to plan ahead:
“It changes a lot because I’m not sure how it’s going to be — the traffic. I don’t know when I can get to my classes. And I can’t really plan my days anymore,” he said. “I have a lot of meetings, deadlines to meet. So it’s going to be very difficult to actually plan for my week. And this is a stress that I didn’t want to bear in the first place.”
Another said their school has switched to online classes during strike days.
“I’m a student, so it affects me in different ways. I can’t take the Metro in the morning,” he said. “Classes are not suspended, but they’re going to be online. And I can’t travel around the city like I used to.”
A fifth commuter said they’re lucky to have a car — but many others are not.
“I mean, personally, I have a car. So I’m lucky enough to be able to drive downtown. But I do have a lot of friends who don’t. So I can only imagine how hard it is now to get to school. So, yeah, it’s pretty bad.”
Despite the disruptions, some hope a resolution will come soon.
“I do hope. I know it’s for two weeks, I think. I’m guessing they’re going to do it earlier,” said one commuter. “It’d be nice if they do it earlier because it causes a lot of bad things for everybody.”
Looking ahead
Senneville says the union remains open to negotiation but wants STM to take workers’ concerns seriously.
“We have solutions. Make a step towards us. Negotiating is not standing on your ground all the same, and come to us with an open mind.”
For now, the rotating strike will continue as planned unless an agreement is reached.
Riders are encouraged to check the STM website for the most up-to-date schedule and plan their trips accordingly.
–With files from the La Presse Canadienne, translated by CityNews
