Quebec construction strike: premier promises back-to-work legislation next week

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“We won’t allow the economy to be bled $45 million a day,” he said, referring to the amount the strike is estimated to cost the province daily.

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Word of legislation came as various marches took place across Quebec in support of the strike as it entered Day 2.

About 175,000 workers launched the unlimited general strike on Wednesday, crippling activity on major projects such as the Champlain Bridge and a Montreal superhospital.

The two sides were expected to resume negotiations later Thursday after union officials had a meeting with Labour Minister Dominique Vien in Quebec City, giving her a schedule of new meetings.

“The minister had asked us to provide her with a schedule and a game plan for the negotiations, that’s what we did,” Michel Trepanier, a spokesman for the union alliance, said in an interview.

Work schedules, overtime and salaries are some of the main stumbling blocks in the negotiations.

“Our jobs, our families are not negotiable and never will be,” said Yves Ouellet, head of the Quebec Federation of Labour’s construction wing, told a crowd of 3,000 in Montreal.

The Canadian Press