Engineers' strike suspends work at 6 Montreal construction sites

A number of Montreal's construction projects will be suspended or postponed due to a strike by more than 400 city employees.

The strike, which began Tuesday at midnight, affects about 440 engineers, chemists, veterinarians and other science professionals who are part of the Syndicat Professionnel des Scientifiques Pratique Exclusive de la Ville (SPSPEM).

Of the 55 sites that deal with transportation infrastructure, 26 will stay in operation while others will be suspended or postponed.

Six of the city's major work sites will be suspended.For a map, click here.

• Which Montreal work sites are affected by engineers' strike?

The union members picketedon St-Denis StreetTuesday morning andeventually assembled at Montreal's city hall, where they held a rally.

The workers are responsible for supervision and quality control for all city construction work, including paving and replacement of sewer pipes.

The veterinarians look after animals at the MontrealBiodme, and the chemists testdrinking waterand are involved with wastewater treatment for the city.

Engineer tienne Devau saidhe and his colleagues are paid less than their private sector counterparts andalso less than fellow engineers who work for other municipalities.

"What we're trying to do here is change the public's view of what an engineer for the city actually is. We don't have conditions that are better than elsewhere. We're actually underpaid," he said.

Their last contract with the city expired in 2010.

Salary, concessions among theissues

The union says the city's proposal, whichamounts to anine per cent decrease in salary annuallyand $12 million in concessions,is "unreasonable." They have turned down the offer.

"We apologizeto the Montreal population for any inconvenience that this may cause, but the [Coderre] administration leaves us no choice," said union vice-president and chemistGisellaGesuale.

The city says despite trying to promote reconciliation between the two sides, the union wouldn't budge.

Mayor Denis Coderre said the city was in "solution-mode" but could only negotiate to a certain point.

"We respect our employees but we also respect Montrealers' ability to pay," he told reporters at city hall.

Pierre Desrochers, the chair ofMontreal's executive committee,acknowledged the city's traffic situation is "difficult" but said he doesn't believe it will worsen due to the suspended work sites.

• MAP: Major construction projects in 2016

The strike will not affect essential services.