Montreal says essential services will be maintained during a blue-collar workers’ strike planned for Wednesday to Saturday, but some may be scaled back or paused.
The strike will kick off Wednesday at 6 a.m. and end at the same time Saturday. Certain services will be maintained due to concerns regarding public health and safety, including repairing signs or traffic lights if needed.
Other services such as roadway repairs and street cleaning following an accident will be maintained, as will emergency tree removal, the maintenance of animal and plant collections and preventive tours of municipal arenas. Cleaning of public squares while maintaining sewer and aqueduct operations will also continue.
Spring flood operations for certain boroughs —Pierrefonds-Roxboro, Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Île-Bizard— will proceed as scheduled.
“Given the impact the blue-collar strike could have on certain city operations, Montreal asks for the public’s understanding, as there may be modifications to services during the strike,” a city news release says.
For example, household waste collection will be maintained in the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough on Wednesday. However, the collection on Thursday will be postponed to Saturday as this collection is performed by blue-collar workers.
Before travelling to a municipal facility during the strike days, the city encourages citizens to check if it is open either through Montreal’s website or by calling 311.
Montreal will suspend parking restrictions related to street maintenance operations across its entire territory on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.
During this period, all other parking regulations remain in effect, including parking meters, resident-only zones and time-limited zones. Reserved lanes and spaces will also be monitored, as will safety zones such as fire hydrants, the city says.
Union members will be mobilizing ‘loudly’
Montreal is in collective agreement negotiations with the Syndicat des cols bleus regroupés de Montréal. The agreement affects approximately 5,500 blue-collar employees, and the city notes it is currently in negotiations with a total of seven different employee groups.
The city says it is working on a solution that “serves the best interests of both parties and respects the financial capacity of the city and its taxpayers.” Negotiations began in February 2025 and there have been 35 meetings, with nearly half of those mediated.
In a Facebook post Friday, the union says it will be attending several borough council meetings across the city in large numbers because “we do not negotiate in the shadows. Because we deserve to be heard. Because our work is essential!”
It says members will be occupying public spaces, making their voices heard and strengthening their bargaining power.
“This movement is yours. And this mobilization takes people. A lot of people. We will not have our value recognized in silence. We are going to make it heard. Loudly. Everywhere.”