The president of the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE), Mélanie Hubert, told TVA Nouvelles that recent progress in negotiations with the government could potentially allow the indefinite general strike to be suspended.
• Also read: FAE strike: Hundreds of people demonstrate in Granby
The FAE panels will meet later today and then on Friday to discuss this possibility.
Despite a second week of strike without income, the 600,000 members of the FAE continue to exert pressure to sustainably improve teaching conditions.
Remember that Mélanie Hubert hopes to be able to sign a new collective agreement for her members before Christmas.
Photo agency QMI, JOEL LEMAY
For Catherine Beauvais-St-Pierre of the Alliance of Montreal Teachers (APPM), it is not possible to “suspend” the strike.
“It is not possible to suspend the strike. It means stopping the strike and resuming it later if necessary, and that means going through all the voting processes and the legal deadline… Today we will assess what is happening,” explains Ms. Beauvais-St-Pierre of TVA News.
Great need in Montreal
One thing is certain for the president of the alliance: the needs of teachers, especially in Montreal, are very great and many measures must be taken to support them.
“In terms of the composition of the class and in terms of the difficulty of the task. We will judge. All the better when there is progress, all the better when management begins to understand that we are not going to give up. The energy continues to rise and mobilization has never been stronger,” she adds.
“If we end the strike, it will be because we come to the conclusion that what we have on the table is satisfactory and that represents great progress,” she emphasizes.
Drainville reaction
Education Minister Bernard Drainville said Thursday morning he hoped to find an agreement “as quickly as possible” and said he hoped the strike would not last a month. He did not rule out resuming missed school days.
-In collaboration with Daphnée Dion-Viens.