Many parents are preparing for a major headache from November 21st when they will have to be creative in caring for their children due to strikes in the education sector.
• Also read: A “historic” teachers’ strike that could last a long time
• Also read: Schools in several school service centers will be closed indefinitely starting November 21st
“It gets complicated, we have to organize with telework and juggle schedules,” said Marlon Martinez, who picked up his daughter Maya, 8, from Armand Lavergne Elementary School in the district. Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.
For him, like thousands of parents, the start of an indefinite strike from Tuesday November 21st is already causing a headache. Especially for those who have no choice but to show up at their workplace.
“I really don’t know how to do this,” asked a mother who didn’t want to be named and works in the restaurant industry. I have no more vacation days and can’t be away for more than three days!”
Near the exit of the Denise Pelletier School in Rivière-des-Prairies, Yeri Diaz traversed the solutions available to him while trying to plan the logistics.
“One day my mother should be able to take my children and my sister’s children with her. Secondly, my partner should be able to telework. I’ll probably have to take a day or two off to get there,” he said.
Understanding
Despite all this, the education community receives the support of parents surveyed by the Journal.
“There is a risk of a bit of chaos, but I support their demands. We agree,” said Mylène Lefebvre, a health worker whose two children attend Saint-Justin School in east Montreal.
The same applies to a mother who met in front of the La Vérendry school and hoped that the government would not drag out negotiations until Christmas.
“What is worrying is that the government is trying to say that parents will be put in a precarious situation because of teachers, but we see quite the opposite,” she says.
And learning?
For little Daniel, 9 years old, these “adult affairs” primarily meant “several” days off.
“I hope my mother will be with me every day,” he told the Journal with a smile.
His mother, Nathalie Laforge, also worried about a protracted labor dispute and its impact on the children’s development.
“It really wasn’t easy with the closures during the pandemic. “Is it really necessary to lose even more learning days?” continued the laboratory technician.
– With Axel Marchand Lamothe
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