The Administrative Labour Tribunal intervened following an “urgent request for intervention” from the City of Montreal regarding illegal pressure tactics employed by blue-collar workers.
On April 1, the City of Montreal alleged that blue-collar workers were refusing to assume the roles of team leader or group leader and were not recognizing the authority of replacement foremen.
After hearing the evidence, the tribunal ruled that this constituted concerted action by the blue-collar workers.
The union itself had published a document outlining this refusal to assume the roles of team leader or group leader, in response to the city’s position during negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreement.
The tribunal notes, for example, that “between March 16 and 31, 2026, there were numerous shifts during which no blue-collar worker assumed the role of team leader or group leader in 26 of the 30 workshops spread across the six divisions of the Service du matériel roulant et des ateliers.”
This resulted in delays, emphasized administrative Judge Francis Hinse.
“This refusal, considering the importance of the tasks performed by blue-collar workers, particularly for the operation, maintenance, and/or repair of various infrastructures and numerous city assets, and the resulting paralysis of activities and services offered on certain shifts, is clearly likely to harm a service to which the public is entitled.”
The tribunal declared that the concerted refusal of blue-collar workers to assume these roles “constitutes an illegal form of pressure.” It reached the same conclusion regarding the refusal to recognize the authority of the replacement foremen.
It therefore ordered the blue-collar workers to resume their normal work duties. It also ordered the union to refrain from encouraging “any illegal work stoppage or slowdown.”
Related:
The decision of the Administrative Labour Tribunal, which dates back to April 1 but whose reasons were published on Tuesday, has also been filed with the Superior Court. This means that any violator could be held in contempt of court.
Montreal blue-collar workers have planned three days of legal strike action, from April 15-17. The tribunal has already ruled that the list of essential services agreed upon by the parties is sufficient to avoid endangering public health or safety.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
