MONTREAL — The fiery relations between the city of Montreal and the firefighter’s union are getting even hotter.
Union president Ronald Martin has been suspended for six months following his involvement in the protest at city hall on August 18.
READ MORE: Unions storm Montreal city hall in pension protest
Martin was notified of his suspension Tuesday morning at the fire department’s head office on Park Ave.
“It’s largely symbolic,” Chris Ross, Montreal’s Association of Firefighters‘ vice president told Global News.
Martin is one of dozens of firefighters who’ve been sanctioned. Six have been fired.
Martin is also facing two criminal charges, one for unlawful assembly.
The protest in August was organized to show municipal workers’ frustration with the province’s proposed municipal pension reform bill.
Gallery: Photos from the August 18 protest at Montreal city hall
Ross was vigorously defending the actions of his colleague.
“He didn’t participate in any of the actions inside of town hall.”
“He didn’t go into any of the council chambers or anything like that,” he said.
Ross also said the morale among Montreal’s 2,400 firefighters was at near historic lows.
The tensions between the two sides revolve around Bill 3, the Quebec government’s proposed pension reform law that would require firefighters to contribute a lot more into their pension plans.
Currently, fire fighters pay 30 per cent of their pension fund. The city of Montreal covers the 70 per cent balance. But Montreal officials want contributions shared equally, 50-50.
Watch: Union representative Marc Ranger on pension issues
“These changes to the pension plan are very similar to grand theft robbery. These are huge amounts of money,” Ross said.
But one city hall analyst is siding with the city, arguing it can’t afford the status quo.
“Tax payers do not have the capacity to pay anymore. And that’s the real issue,” Karim Boulos said.
READ MORE: Opinion: Quebec cannot afford its public sector pension plans
But until the pension reform bill controversy is resolved, the tensions between the two sides will likely continue.
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