Prime Minister François Legault called on teachers’ unions on Friday morning to “end the strike” as the ongoing conflict was “bad for our children.” Advocacy groups viewed this statement as “emotional blackmail” and “contempt.”
“What is happening now is bad for our children,” the head of government said in a press crowd in the National Assembly on Friday morning. “I call on the teachers unions to end the strike for the sake of our children. »
Mr Legault ruled out the idea of introducing a special law. “We’re not there,” he said. He reiterated that the government was willing to review its pay offer, subject to “flexibility” from unions.
“We can’t hurt our children. “It is the most precious thing we have,” he emphasized. “I’m ready for anything – there is nothing more important than our children – that’s why we have to end this strike, it will harm the success of our children.” »
The Prime Minister recalled that his government proposes to add teaching aids to give a helping hand to teachers. According to Legault, the latter are “rightly” demanding a reduction in class sizes. However, this remains impossible given the labor shortage, he argued.
“The pandemic has already happened, so we have to stop it. Please, I ask all teachers unions to end the strike,” he reiterated.
“Emotional blackmail”
The Autonomous Education Federation responded to François Legault via social media. “Mr Legault, FAE teachers reject emotional blackmail. What is hurting public schools is the deterioration of the system, which has worsened since you came to power,” she wrote on the platform X (formerly Twitter).
The Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) stated “These statements from the Prime Minister do not help,” it added.
“There is enough contempt for teachers who advocate for quality education for students in Quebec,” responded the president of the Alliance des profs de Montréal, Catherine Beauvais-St-Rock. “People are not fooled and know that our children are suffering because of the government’s unwillingness to invest in them. We will return to class with our students if the government commits to addressing the abuses in public schools. »
Many students in Quebec have been on forced leave since November 21st. The Common Front, which includes teachers and school support staff (daycare teachers, secretaries, etc.), walked off the job November 21-23.
The FAE, which includes 66,500 teachers, launched an indefinite general strike on November 23rd. Unlike the Common Front unions (CSN, CSQ, FTQ and APTS), the FAE has not appointed an arbitrator.
Schools whose teachers are affiliated with the FAE have been closed since November 21st. They are located in different regions: Montreal, Laval, Montérégie, Basses-Laurentides, Estrie, Outaouais and Quebec.
No comprehensive bonuses
On the issue of nurses, the Prime Minister said demanding bonuses for all workers was a poor decision by management.
“The union tells us: If you give [des primes], we have to support them wall to wall, even where we don’t have recruitment problems. That does not make sense! “We need to return to the ABC of good management,” he argued.
The 80,000 members of the Interprofessional Health Federation of Quebec (FIQ) will go on strike from December 11th to 14th. In a press release on Thursday, the union, which consists mainly of nursing staff, reminded that bonuses were already included in the collective agreement. He is calling on Quebec to increase the salary of health workers who work on weekends by 50% of the standard rate. “It is the government that is blocking it,” writes the FIQ.
Its president, Julie Bouchard, claims in the press release that there is “progress at the negotiating table” and “openness on both sides”.