Montreal cemetery strike

Office employees at the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery have reached a deal in principle to end a month strike, the union announced on Wednesday.

The labour dispute has left more than bodies unburied, with the remains stored at freezing temperatures in an on-site repository, the cemetery said. Nancy Babalis said she still comes nearly every weekend to visit the plot of her year-old son, who died 10 years earlier minus a day. A groundhog perched on the base of a headstone sat shrouded in overgrown grass Sunday, the only creature visible on the property. We have one, two, three, four tree limbs that fall each day. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost. Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles.

Montreal cemetery strike

The long-standing and, at times, bitter dispute between the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery workers and management seems to have come to an end. Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet said on Twitter that 83 per cent of the employees accepted an agreement in principle. The cemetery said in a news release that staff will return to work on July 17, "focusing primarily on cleaning up the grounds and addressing specific operational needs. This work will be carried out diligently over the coming weeks so that the site can once again be safely opened to the families of the deceased and visitors. Early this week, Boulet proposed that both sides let an independent arbitrator settle the dispute. Workers at the cemetery have been on strike since September, and hundreds of bodies have remained in cold storage awaiting burial since that time. Boulet commended the arbitrator in his tweet on Thursday. Around employees have been on strike, with wages at the heart of the dispute. Groundskeepers have been without a collective agreement since , while office workers haven't had one since Management apologized to those who have been unable to visit grave sites or bury loved ones and said staff would gradually contact families to schedule burials.

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Quebec's labour minister says he is "very optimistic" that there might be a way out of the months-long strike at Canada's largest cemetery that has caused heartache for hundreds of grieving families. After having separate meetings with Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery officials and the workers' union to try to find a solution, Jean Boulet has proposed both sides let an independent arbitrator settle the longstanding dispute. Workers at the Montreal cemetery have been on strike since last September, meaning in-ground burials for hundreds of bodies are on hold while they remain in cold storage. Families, in the meantime, are frustrated since the cemetery has been closed for several months. Coming out of Monday's meetings, Boulet gave both sides 48 hours to respond to his proposal for binding arbitration. Both sides must consent to the proposal. The minister said management was warm to the idea, while the union said it needed some time to reflect on it. If both parties agree to proceed, the strike would end as soon as an arbitrator is appointed, Boulet said. And we will work as intensely as possible to settle and to find an agreement in principle or a decision that has to be handed down by the arbitrator, diligently," Boulet told reporters Monday.

Montreal cemetery strike

A strike that has kept the Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery in Montreal closed for more than six months came one step closer to ending on Thursday. After a marathon negotiating session overnight Wednesday, the parties — the cemetery workers and management — agreed to accept the recommendation of a government-appointed mediator, according to Labour Minister Jean Boulet. The development was the first sign in months that the strike, which has shuttered the cemetery and frustrated families who have been unable to bury relatives or visit their loved ones' graves since January, could be nearing an end. Dufault said Wednesday that the main sticking point in contract talks had been management's refusal to budge on two of the workers' demands: a pay increase that includes back pay and the workers' desire to see staffing levels maintained or increased. During the shutdown, the cemetery has become overgrown and unkempt. Its grounds are littered with branches that fell during an April ice storm. It briefly opened on Mother's Day, but lineups formed outside the cemetery's main entrance.

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Find out how you can still connect with us. Full Menu. View image in full screen. Grievers sneaking into Montreal cemetery as labour dispute drags on. Read about us. These top surfers are going to the Olympics after winning the final qualifier Top surfers Gabriel Medina of Brazil and Sally Fitzgibbons of Australia won the final qualifier for the upcoming Olympics on Sunday following nine days in which scores of competitors faced volatile weather and painful sea urchin spines. Mounties on Vancouver Island say more than 3, pills they seized while executing a search warrant last week were diverted from the province's prescription safer supply program. The cemetery has said the impasse has left more than bodies unburied, with corpses stored at freezing temperatures in an on-site repository. Quebec's labour minister intervened in the bitter labour dispute — one that kept the doors of the cemetery shut for several months, angering families and creating a backlog of burials. Photos: Nuit blanche at the Old Port. Impairment is suspected in a Burnaby crash that sent one person to hospital in critical condition early Sunday morning, according to authorities. Video link. Striking cemetery maintenance workers accept contract deal.

Grievers in Montreal issued pleas on Sunday for the Quebec government to take action as a months-long standoff between workers and management at Canada's largest graveyard drags on. A strike by more than maintenance and office workers has kept the Notre-Dames-des-Neiges cemetery's wrought-iron gates shut to the public since mid-January, with the exception of a few days in the spring. The labour dispute has left more than bodies unburied, with the remains stored at freezing temperatures in an on-site repository, the cemetery said.

Swidda Rassy reports. Athletes receive special welcome upon return from Special Olympics 23 Barrie-based Special Olympics athletes made a triumphant return home Sunday night. Accept all Manage Read our policies. Administrative staff at Montreal's Notre-Dame-des-Neiges Cemetery have voted unanimously in favour of a new collective agreement and are set to go back to work in the New Year, putting an end to a strike that started more than a year ago. Ghost bike memorial pays tribute to cyclist killed in southwest Scarborough late last month An emotional memorial was held on Sunday afternoon in honour of a year-old cyclist who died after being struck by two drivers just under a week ago in southwest Scarborough. C — causing a fuel leak and forcing all of the passengers to disembark, according to VIA Rail. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. Editor's Picks. Water levels return to normal on weekend, but damage lingers following flash-flooding in Sussex last week. Gates at the cemetery have been closed since mid-January, leaving bereaved families unable to visit and sometimes resort to sneaking through the fence. Share this Story : Notre-Dame-des-Neiges office workers' union reaches deal to end month strike. Cindy Boulet says she and her two sons, ages 5 and 8, were supposed to fly to Cuba on Tuesday.