Ferry service at several crossing points on the St. Lawrence River is either non-existent or very slow-going as workers strike.

The Société des Traversiers du Québec, the union representing navigation officers and mechanics that operate the ferries, began its strike at midnight.

Service between Lévis and Quebec City as well as between Sorel-Tracy and St-Ignace-de-Loyola is cancelled starting Tuesday morning.

Ferry union spokesperson Gordon Ringuette says all blame for the strike should go to the Liberal government's austerity measures.

Service at three other crossings — Isle-aux-Coudres-St-Joseph-de-la-Rive, Matane-Baie-Comeau-Godbout and Tadoussac-Baie-Sainte-Catherine — is reduced. Other ferries are not affected.

The Quebec City-Lévis ferry carries an average of more than 4,000 passengers per day, and the strike could mean busier than normal traffic on bridges.

It will be worse in Sorel-Tracy.

Mayor Serge Péloquin says the strike affects hundreds of workers, adding a two-and-a-half hour detour to their drive to work.

Sticking points in negotiations with the government include salaries, parental benefits and retirement benefits.

Gordon Ringuette is the ferry union's spokesman.

"Unfortunately, people should be thanking the Liberal government and their austerity measures [for the strike]," he said.

A full list of schedule changes is available on the province's ferry website.

Taxis step in to help

Quebec City's taxi union — the Regroupement des intermédiaires de taxi de Québec — is hoping to help out during the ferry strike.

"We have full respect for the [ferry] union, we respect their right to strike... Having said that, we don't have to take a position, we have to serve our customers," spokesperson Félix Tremblay told Quebec AM.

"Our customers this morning need to go from the ferry terminal on the south shore to the ferry terminal on the north shore and we're trying to come up with solutions to help them do that."

The taxis are offering carpools to help split the fare.