Longueuil white-collar workers hold four more strike days

Longueuil's hôtel de ville. (Google maps)

Longueuil's white-collar workers are holding a second series of strike days this week.

The 1,200 workers are members of a local union of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), affiliated with the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ).

The workers include technicians, office employees, professionals, school crossing guards and pool employees whose collective agreement expired on Jan. 1, 2021.

The City of Longueuil has warned that its service centre and administrative buildings will be closed due to the strike.

Ice rinks and libraries are also closed, but indoor pools remain open.

The white-collar workers are demanding the same conditions as those granted to the city's blue-collar workers, including a 10 per cent increase in the salary scale, as well as a four-day week.

The union says it sees this as a question of "internal equity."

For its part, the city is denying offering white-collar workers less than their blue-collar counterparts.

White-collar workers, who voted 92 per cent in favour of a strike mandate last November, also walked off the job on March 13 and 14.

According to the union, telecommuting and recognition for employees with highly precarious working conditions are also on the agenda.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 2, 2024.