Another STM strike may hit Montreal later this month & your commute could suck even more

Montreal public transit users could have their commutes disrupted over the next month.

On Friday, the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) announced that its maintenance employees, represented by the Syndicat du transport de Montréal, have filed a strike notice. The walkout is scheduled to begin September 22 and run until 10 p.m. on October 5.

The union, affiliated with the CSN and representing about 2,400 employees, says its members will refuse overtime for the full two weeks in response to the wage conflict.

"For months, the STM has been dragging its feet at the bargaining table and remaining inflexible. To reach an agreement, there needs to be movement on both sides," said CSN President Caroline Senneville in a statement.

"The maintenance workers' strike will affect bus and métro services from September 22 to October 5. The service offered during this period will be announced in the coming days," the STM wrote in an X post on Friday morning.

For now, only a few details are confirmed. Paratransit service will continue as normal, and the STM says some level of bus and metro service will be maintained. The exact plan for essential services is still being negotiated between the union and management and will be submitted to Quebec's Tribunal administratif du travail.

The STM has promised more information in the coming days about how schedules will be adjusted and which lines could be most affected.

This latest strike notice comes just a few months after STM employees staged major walkouts in June that disrupted commutes for thousands of Montrealers. That strike lasted from June 9th to June 17th. Since then, services have been returned to normal.

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