Over 1,000 lawyers and notaries working for the Quebec government will begin an indefinite strike on Monday after going over a year and a half without a contract.
The strike will kick off with rallies in front of courthouses in the province’s major cities.
The 1,100 public employees work for a variety of civil, administrative and justice departments and agencies, as well as acting as legal and forensic advisers to ministers and organization leaders.
The strike could delay the drafting of new legislation and slow court proceedings. Any bills not filed before Nov. 4 may have to be postponed until the next parliamentary session. Such bills could include those concerning the status of pit bulls, the metropolitain status of Montreal and an amendment to the Environmental Quality Act.
The president of notaries and lawyers union, Jean Denis, said the decision to strike was made reluctantly but its members are determined. The strike vote passed with 84 per cent approval.
The main issue at stake is the union’s request to fundamentally change the negotiation process. Denis said the union wants to implement a binding arbitration mechanism rather than the current non-binding mediation that’s in place.
