Relations between Montreal and its union are at such a low that a staggering 13,000 grievances are now on file, and could take as long as 40 years to process, according to an investigation by La Presse.

Using the Access to Information legislation, La Presse obtained documents and compiled the grievances on record.

Given the current backlog in arbitration, documented complaints won't be resolved for another four decades, the investigation suggested.

Things are so backed up that this fall city arbitrators will start sifting through grievances filed in 1998.

Grievances balloon

Between 1989 and 2006, the number of grievances ballooned fivefold, with workers now initiating more than 1,800 complaints a year since 2003, according to the newspaper's report.

There are 6,500 members in Local 301, which is part of CUPE and affiliated with Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ).

The problem is the union now uses grievances as a pressure tactic in their longstanding battle with city administrators, said Michel Grant, who teaches human resources at l'Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM).

Montreal imposed a labour contract on blue-collar workers in 2004 through binding arbitration, a move that soured its dialogue with the union, Grant said.

The conflict has been costly. The city of Montreal has spent more than $1.6 million since 2003 to rent rooms and hire arbitrators and lawyers to process the grievances. The union, for its part, has spent about $100,000 a year on costs incurred by workers' grievances.

The blue-collar complaints dwarf those filed by white-collar workers, according to the report.

White-collar workers have 1,183 active grievances on file, compared to the blue-collars' 13,168 complaints.

With files from the Canadian Press