Deal reached in Montreal cemetery workers’ standoff that has left 300 bodies unburied

The union representing striking maintenance workers at one of the country’s biggest cemeteries says a deal has been reached with their employer.

The Confédération des syndicats nationaux confirmed that its members will be back on the job at Montreal’s Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery on Monday after they voted 83 per cent in favour of a new agreement.

Gates at the cemetery have been closed since mid-January, leaving bereaved families unable to visit and sometimes resort to sneaking through the fence.

1:55 Grievers protest months-long cemetery standoff that’s left over 300 bodies unburied

• Grievers protest months-long cemetery standoff that’s left over 300 bodies unburied
• Montreal cemetery at centre of tense labour dispute remains closed on Father’s Day
• Canada’s biggest cemetery has been closed for 5 months. Families are now calling on the province to intervene
• Grieving families want Quebec government to settle cemetery dispute
• No plans for Quebec to intervene in cemetery labour dispute despite outcry from families
• Montreal cemetery once again closed to the public
• Quebec labour minister pushes for agreement in Montreal cemetery strike
• Families waiting to bury loved ones as labour conflict lingers at Montreal cemetery

Previous Video

Next Video

The cemetery has said the impasse has left more than 300 bodies unburied, with corpses stored at freezing temperatures in an on-site repository.

The cemetery says in a news release that it is satisfied with the new collective agreement, which expires in December 2027 and was reached with the help of a mediator from the province’s Labour Department.

It says returning workers will focus on cleaning up the grounds so the site can reopen, adding that families of deceased people will be contacted so that they can begin organizing burials.