After seven months of strike, the 50 leisure employees of Saint-Georges, in Beauce, as well as the Municipality are summoned before the chief conciliator of the Ministry of Labor, in the hope of putting an end to the conflict which particularly affects users of ice cream at the Lacroix-Dutil center.
According to the union that represents the workers, the main point of dispute would be wages, but the gap would no longer be very large.
“We are 3% away from agreeing to have a salary comparable to neighboring towns which are smaller. We are not asking for the moon,” says Barbara Poirier, of the Central Council of Québec–Chaudière-Appalaches–CSN (CCQCA).
The union claims to have only had two meetings with the City since the start of the indefinite general strike on March 2.
“And we have been waiting for a return from the management side since June 17,” deplores Mme Poirier.
Around fifty leisure workers in Saint-Georges de Beauce have been on strike since March 2, 2024.
Photo taken from the WEBSITE OF THE CONSEIL CENTRAL DE QUÉBEC–CHAUDIÈRE-APPALACHES–CSN
Josée Dubé, v.p. of the Federation of Public Service Employees (FEESP–CSN), explained that the chief conciliator had announced last week that he would lead a meeting between the two parties these days.
At the time of publication, The Journal had still not been able to get the City of Saint-Georges to react.
Significant impacts
The St-Georges Minor Hockey Players Association (AJHMSG) was finishing its season when the strike began.
“We were hosting a playoff tournament that had to be moved elsewhere. The surrounding municipalities helped us a lot. We managed to do something, but I didn’t think it was going to last forever,” sighs the president of the Association, Charles-Éric Vallée.
“It’s worse this season. We can only practice once a week instead of twice. We have to go to Saint-Côme, Lac-Etchemin, Saint-Prosper, Beauceville, all within a 15 or 20 minute drive. And we have the hours that others don’t want, for example 7 a.m. in the morning,” he adds.
The Association has lowered the cost of registrations to compensate for higher travel expenses.
The conflict paralyzes operations on the two ice creams at the Lacroix-Dutil center.
Photo JEAN-FRANÇOIS RACINE
“It’s still rubbish, we have two beautiful ice creams in Saint-Georges and we won’t be able to use them in the winter […] It’s a man’s war that causes children to suffer. And this comes after the pandemic and the teachers’ strike. And those it affects the most are children. It has to end,” implores Mr. Vallée.
Team in danger
According to the president of Cool FM de Saint-Georges, of the North American Hockey League (LNAH), his club will not survive if the strike is not resolved by the end of the season.
“We spent two months calculating, reaching an agreement with the League and the other teams. Our sponsors have decided to follow us, it is the Beauceron spirit that allows us to survive. But it can’t continue, it’s a pivotal season,” says Stéphane Rouleau.
Instead of playing in front of 1,300 spectators at the Lacroix-Dutil center, which has 2,500 seats, the team found itself playing in front of 500 to 600 people, the maximum capacity of the arena.
Strikebreakers
The union and the employer will meet on October 21 and 22, before the Administrative Labor Tribunal (TAT).
The first hearing will focus on the use of strikebreakers, 116 in all, according to Barbara Poirier. The TAT has already partly agreed with the union on September 13, notably by preventing the use of day camp monitors to fill the positions of striking workers.
The second will relate to allegations of bad faith negotiations and vexatious comments, added Mr.me Poirier.
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