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Unionized workers at the Société de protection des forêts contre le feu (SOPFEU), Quebec’s forest firefighting and prevention agency, have voted 99 per cent in favour of walking off the job at “an opportune moment.”
Unifor, the FTQ-affiliated union representing the workers, announced the strike vote result early Friday.
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The collective agreements for the workers involved — firefighters, communications agents, labourers and mechanics — expired in January 2023. The union says contract talks for six locals were closed last February but that many issues, including salaries, remain unresolved.
Despite the efforts of a conciliator, the union feels it is at a dead end over the issues of vacations, worker mobility and the duration of the next contract.
Unifor Quebec director Daniel Cloutier accused SOPFEU management of not taking the issues of retaining employees and the inherent danger of their employees’ work seriously.
“With the terrible 2023 season threatening to be repeated this year — and for years after — because of global warming, our priority is to ensure safe and equitable working conditions for our members who play an essential role in the protection of our forests … against fires, as well as protect municipalities and their populations near fire zones,” he said.
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