STM maintenance workers to launch 4th strike this year, this time over the holidays

Montreal transit workers are launching a strike Thursday for the fourth time this year as a contract dispute with the city's transit agency continues to stall.

The Société de transport de Montréal (STM)'s 2,400 maintenance workers announced last month that they would refuse to work overtime during the holidays.

The strike is scheduled to take place between Dec. 11 and Jan. 11, according to a new strike notice filed by the maintenance workers' union.

A Dec. 1 decision by the labour tribunal ruled that the initial notice was inadmissible.

As of Wednesday morning, the union told CBC it was still awaiting the tribunal's decision on the new strike notice.

The transit agency says buses and Metros will run during the strike, but the pressure tactic could have an impact on services given how long it is expected to last. The extent of the impact on service is still unknown.

The union said the STM relies heavily on overtime and it wants to pressure them to reach a collective agreement.

It says a deal could be reached by the holidays if the agency is willing to budge during talks.

Maintenance workers were set to strike throughout last month, but the action was suspended in mid-November, hours before Quebec's labour minister tabled new legislation that could have forced them back to work.

Quebec now has legislation, known as law 14. that allows the provincial government to intervene and force striking public transit workers into arbitration and provide minimum services for the "well-being" of the public.