Rejected last week by 95% by the drivers of the STLévis, the settlement hypothesis submitted by the conciliators remains “funny interesting” to resolve the labor dispute which broke out on Monday, estimates the mayor of Lévis.
• Read also: Unlimited general strike at ST Lévis: A labor dispute that intensifies the isolation of the most vulnerable people
• Read also: Drivers on strike
• Read also: STLévis: a “last chance meeting” on Saturday before the general strike on Monday
This is what Gilles Lehouillier said on Monday evening, a few minutes before the city council meeting in which around thirty Lévis bus drivers participated and during which they asked questions calmly.
The 110 drivers, who have been without a contract since December 31, 2021, launched an indefinite general strike on Monday.
The mayor of Lévis reiterated his confidence in the ST Lévis negotiators and refused to get directly involved in the talks which might resume on Wednesday.
However, he slipped that the settlement hypothesis, refused by the drivers on the night of February 5 to 6, represented a “sensible” offer.
Wry smile
Alain Audet, president of the STLévis Drivers’ Union (CSN), welcomed the mayor’s remarks with a broad, ironic smile.
“If it was so interesting, why was it 95% rejected by the members?” he wondered, recalling that the union executive submitted this hypothesis without giving instructions to the drivers to vote.
In a related vein, the bus drivers promised to organize “a welcoming committee” on Tuesday, in front of the Lévis Convention Center, for Mayor Lehouillier.
The latter is to give a conference with an economic flavor under the aegis of the Chamber of Commerce.
Photo Diane Tremblay
Sonia Vaillancourt, General Manager of La Passerelle
Vulnerable clientele
The general strike launched on Monday has an impact on more vulnerable clienteles who can no longer travel to receive the services they need.
“I have people who were supposed to come and who canceled. Of course there are repercussions. We work with people who regularly need our services to break their isolation,” explained Sonia Vaillancourt, executive director of the La Passerelle self-help group in Lévis.
Note that the adapted transport offered to people with disabilities is maintained in Lévis.
– With the collaboration of Diane Tremblay
