Quebec’s administrative labour tribunal has ruled that work slowdowns by maintenance workers with the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) are illegal and cannot continue.
Judge Alain Turcotte sided with the STM’s management in his decision issued on Tuesday. He ordered the union representing maintenance workers and its members to immediately take action to stop slowdowns.
READ MORE: Montreal public transit users caught in the middle as STM, union fight over bus shortages
Last week, the public transit authority’s management was before the tribunal to argue a growing bus shortage on Montreal roads was due to maintenance workers intentionally working too slowly as an illegal pressure tactic.
Sylvain St-Denis, an STM superintendent, said on Thursday that thousands of customers were affected by the bus shortage in the first five weeks of 2019 alone. As a result, commuters have been dealing with delays and overcrowding on buses.
WATCH: Hundreds of STM buses off the road
The union, which represents 2,400 maintenance workers, countered there were fewer buses in operation due to difficult weather conditions, as well as a lack of equipment and poor training. They also argued there was a shortage of mechanics.
In his ruling, Turcotte wrote the increase in public transit users who were affected by the bus shortage has continued to rise since the beginning of contract negotiations between the union and the STM.
READ MORE: Who is to blame for shortage of buses on Montreal roads?
“The number of customers who experienced a service cut-off due to lack of buses has steadily increased,” wrote Turcotte. “In 2018, it is 10 times more than the previous year.
“The number of customers affected for the months of January and February 2019, 430,964 customers, is already higher than for the whole of 2017.”
The public transit authority’s maintenance workers have been without a contract since January 2018. The main sticking points are forced overtime and scheduling.
— With files from Global’s Dan Spector and The Canadian Press