SAINT-JEAN-SUR-RICHELIEU, Quebec, June 19, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Workers at the Termaco sheet metal plant in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu are on strike because the company refuses to adjust wages to the cost of living to counteract years of rampant inflation.
The 90 workers, members of the Syndicat des Métallos/United Steelworkers Union (USW), began their strike on Monday.
Workers have suffered significant losses in purchasing power in recent years because they have not received wage adjustments since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. Even now, as workers try to negotiate a new collective agreement, Termaco is refusing to grant cost-of-living adjustments, provoking the strike that began on Monday.
“We sense a real stubbornness at the negotiating table, nothing is happening,” said Guillaume Saint-André, chairman of USW Local 8896.
“We need to make up for the ground we have lost due to the high inflation of recent years. The company raised its prices and made money, but we got nothing in return,” said Saint-André.
“We are realistic and have even compromised on our demands, but we feel that the employer is mocking us. We know that they are doing well, that the orders are there, so we believe that we should get our fair share. Above all, we do not want to become poorer under any circumstances,” he added.
The workers had started their strike after the employer flatly rejected a counter-proposal from the union that included a number of compromises to its earlier proposals.
“We tried to avoid a conflict until the end by putting forward a counter-proposal with several compromises. The employer ignored our proposal and even threatened a lockout. The company’s foremen even interfered in the negotiation process by openly commenting on the negotiations at the plant, which is unacceptable,” said USW representative Martin Courville.
“While many other employers have adjusted their workers’ wages during the pandemic, our members at Termaco have received nothing. They are simply demanding compensation so that they do not become even poorer,” said Courville.
There was also disagreement between the parties about the term of a new collective agreement: the employer demanded a term of five years, while the union proposed three years.
“Even on this issue, we were willing to compromise and agreed on a four-year agreement,” noted Courville.
The Syndicat des Métallos/United Steelworkers, affiliated with the Quebec Federation of Labour, is the largest private sector union in Quebec, representing more than 60,000 workers in all sectors of the economy.
Contact: Clairandrée Cauchy, USW Communications, 514-774-4001, [email protected]
