Strike to disrupt public transit in Sherbrooke

The SCPF. (LA PRESSE CANADIENNE/Jacques Boissinot)

Public transit services are expected to be disrupted this week in Sherbrooke, Que. as bus drivers exercise a strike mandate for four hours on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.

On Monday, buses are expected to stop from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., with service resuming at 11:30 a.m., according to the Société de transport de Sherbrooke (STS).

On Tuesday, service is expected to stop at 1 p.m. and resume at 6:30 p.m.

On Wednesday, service is expected to be interrupted at 11:30 a.m., according to STS.

A fourth strike day is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21.

If no agreement is reached, a strike is planned for both the morning and afternoon.

In accordance with a decision by the Administrative Labour Tribunal, there are to be no essential services during the strike periods.

Regular buses, minibuses, microbuses, taxi-buses and transportation-on-demand services will also be paralyzed during these periods.

Paratransit services are not affected by the strike, the STS notes.

The strike concerns 184 members of the drivers' union, which is part of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), affiliated to the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ).

The dispute concerns wages, work-life balance and flexibility.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 9, 2024.