Blue collar workers and the city hampered snow removal operations

On February 10th, the Tribunal Administratif du Travail ordered Châteauguay’s blue-collar workers to stop refusing to work overtime on snow removal operations in a “concerted manner”. As for the city, it must now “take all measures to refrain” from cancelling overnight snow removal operations if at least one full crew is available.   

Translation Amanda Bennett

Judge Anick Chainey needed to address the conflict between the City of Châteauguay and its blue-collar workers, which has led to significant delays in snow removal operations of late, much to citizens’ chagrin.   

The city attributed the delay to the refusal of its unionized employees to work overtime at night since the city had resorted to using private contractors, as provided for in the collective agreement. The blue-collar workers denied the concerted action and instead claimed that the delay was caused by the cancellation of snow removal operations by the employer.

Reactions to the use of the private sector

The judge conveyed that in Châteauguay, “the city’s blue-collar workers are exclusively responsible for snow removal within its territory and it is one of the few municipalities where that is the case. They associate a sense of pride with the quality of the work they do due to that fact.”

The city’s decision to solicit help for its employees from the private sector “has caused a stir” according to the union. On January 31st, blue-collar workers who had agreed to work overtime at night reneged after being informed of the city’s decision to add outside trucks to hasten the pace of snow removal.

One of the issues over the past few weeks was to ensure the presence of a blower per team to operate the machinery. Without a blower, the snow removal operation could not take place.

The judge concluded that this was a concerted action by the blue-collar workers. As for the allegations of vandalism of equipment and intimidation that the city referred to in the media, the Court concluded that there was no proof that the actions were carried out by the blue-collar workers.

Unjustified cancellations

In her decision Anick Chainey also criticized the city for choosing to cancel operations despite having a full team of blue-collar workers available to work overtime at night.

“In this regard, it is quite paradoxical to claim before the Tribunal and the media that the situation is such that it not only deprives the citizens of Châteauguay of the service to which they are entitled, but that it also engenders risks to their health or safety, while preferring the alternative of cancelling everything instead of doing what is possible under the circumstances to offer the service in question,” she wrote. The Chief of Operations at the Public Works Department justified these cancellations by saying that he wanted two crews, not one.

Both parties must comply with the Tribunal’s orders until such time as unionized employees have the right to strike, after the collective agreement expires on December 31, 2023.

Tensions at City Council

Châteauguay Mayor Eric Allard did not mention the Tribunal’s judgment at the City Council meeting held February 13, but began the meeting with a lengthy summary of what had happened in the past few weeks, stating from the outset that the meeting was not the forum to discuss labour relations.

During question period, a blue-collar worker from Châteauguay wanted to give his time to the President of SCFP-Québec, Patrick Gloutney. The latter said he wanted to “reach out (to the city) so that this file can come to an end.” “Are you the same person who came here in July and threatened to make a circus out of our 350th and come put a wrench in our plans?” the mayor asked before he refused to give him the floor.