Teachers are waiting to finalize an agreement with Quebec to decide whether they will stay in the profession or send their resumes to employers in the private sector, says the president of the Autonomous Federation of Education, whose members are on the road for a second week without Strike.
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Against the background of the labor shortage, the profile of the teachers is interesting, emphasizes Mélanie Hubert.
“It’s not a threat, it’s a fact. Our people are exhausted. The teachers on the street tell us: we will look at the results of the next negotiations, maybe it will make a difference whether I stay or go,” she confided on Wednesday morning during a press conference on Parliament Hill.
Despite a second week of strike without income, the FAE members are still motivated to improve teaching conditions in the long term, the trade unionist assures.
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“The network has been deteriorating for twenty years. It will probably take that long – two, three, four rounds of negotiations – to really make up for everything that has been lost over time,” says Ms. Hubert.
But the outbreak of the indefinite general strike had a modest impact on the negotiation process. “We have been negotiating a little more actively for the past three days,” notes the President of the FAE.
Like the government, Mélanie Hubert hopes to be able to sign a new collective agreement before Christmas.
However, she shows moderate optimism. “I can’t promise it, but that’s what it takes. Woman [Sonia] Lebel, we need you to be there to release the tables,” she said.
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