Two strikes break out at Hydro-Québec; overtime affected
Posted May 14, 2026 4:19 pm.
Last Updated May 14, 2026 8:33 pm.
With two strikes having begun Thursday morning at Hydro-Québec, the state-owned utility expects that the refusal by the affected workers to work overtime could “have an impact on more complex projects.”
The 9,000 members of two unions have launched an indefinite strike in the form of a refusal to work overtime. The unions are the Trades Employees Union and the Technologists Union.
Since the strike involves a refusal to work overtime, Hydro-Québec management says regular operations are not affected. However, “certain non-urgent work or operations could be delayed due to the overtime strike.”
Hydro-Québec and the two affected local chapters of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), affiliated with the FTQ, had already agreed on the essential services to be maintained during the strikes. The Administrative Labour Tribunal ruled the list of essential services was sufficient to ensure public health and safety were not jeopardized.
The tribunal’s decision stipulates, in particular, that services must be provided “when one or more Hydro-Québec customers are deprived of electricity due to an outage.”
The same applies to “urgent and necessary operations and work to control flooding or spillways and ensure the safety of dams.”
Both collective agreements have been expired since Dec. 31, 2023.
The use of subcontractors is at the heart of the dispute for both unions. The technologists’ union also cites expected flexibility, as well as certain employer demands, as issues in the dispute.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
