Prime Minister François Legault called on teachers unions Friday morning to “end the strike,” a statement that advocacy groups interpreted as “emotional blackmail” and “contempt.” The Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) also ignored Mr. Legault’s message and announced on Friday evening the continuation of its indefinite general strike. However, she is in the process of developing a counteroffer, which she will “submit as quickly as possible.”
“We had to analyze a proposal presented by the government,” FAE President Mélanie Hubert said at a press conference at the end of a meeting that began on Thursday. “The government has proposed certain advances […] which seem interesting to us,” she added, particularly on the composition of the class, but nothing satisfactory, so the union is suspending the strike.
Enough is enough contempt for teachers who advocate for quality education for Quebec students
The possibility of allowing teachers to telework during teaching days remains a point of contention with the government, according to the president. “We have also had discussions about pay scales, so we believe we can continue to go a long way. »
“The time we spent over the last two days was dedicated to working on the text of a counteroffer,” said Ms. Hubert, who assured that this proposal “will not be one-sided.” She invited the management side to negotiate intensively throughout the weekend “to try to reach an agreement as quickly as possible.”
Ms Hubert also described François Legault’s outing on Friday morning as “regrettable”. The Prime Minister called on teachers unions to end the strike because “ [c]What is happening now is bad for our children.” “I call on the teachers’ unions to end the strike for the sake of our children. »
What is happening now is bad for our children. I call on the teachers unions to end the strike for the sake of our children.
However, 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 am ready for anything – there is nothing more important than our children – that is why we must end this strike, it will harm our children’s success. »
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 size. 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 FAE 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 only gotten worse since you came to power,” she wrote on Platform X.
The Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) stated “These statements from [premier ministre] don’t help at all,” she added.
“Enough is enough contempt for teachers who advocate for quality education for students in Quebec,” said Catherine, president of the Alliance of Teachers of Montreal. Beauvais St Pierre. “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. »
Mr. Legault, FAE teachers reject emotional blackmail. What is hurting public schools is the decay of the system, which has only worsened since your time in office.
The president of the Federation of Education Trade Unions, Josée Scalabrini, said in writing that the “Prime Minister is trying to make teachers who are committed to improving their working conditions feel guilty.” She accused Mr. Legault of “adding fuel to the fire” and calls on him to “give clear mandates to his negotiators” to offer teachers better working conditions, “because these are also the conditions for student learning”.
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. Earlier this week, the group announced new strike days from December 8th to 14th.
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), it did not use 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 bonuses for everyone
Regarding nurses, the Prime Minister said demanding bonuses for all workers was a bad 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 a recruitment problem. That does not make sense! “We have to go back to the basics of good management,” he emphasized.
FIQ’s 80,000 members will go on strike from December 11th to 14th. In a press release published on Thursday, the union, which is mainly made up of nursing staff, recalled 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% over 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”.