Despite a counteroffer to the government, Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) teachers will continue their mandate for an indefinite general strike earlier this week.
• Also read: FAE Counteroffer: What to Expect?
However, last week the Autonomous Federation for Education (FAE) reported significant progress, but nothing that could lead to an end to the strike.
“The government has understood that the composition of classes is a problem,” agreed the president of the FAE, Mélanie Hubert, on TVA on Saturday morning. “But it’s not perfect yet.”
The strike is therefore expected to continue at the beginning of the week. For its part, the Common Front, which brings together union members from FTQ, CSN, CSQ and APTS, is scheduled to strike from December 8th to 14th.
Solidarity citizens
Citizens expressed concern about the state of the public network and gathered in front of the National Assembly on Sunday afternoon to show their solidarity with striking workers in the health and education sectors.
There were several dozen protesters in Quebec on Sunday afternoon in solidarity with striking public sector workers. Photo Jean-Philippe Guilbault
Several dozen gathered at the beginning of the afternoon at the invitation of parents who wanted to show “the faces of support” to the strikers.
“Our first concern is the state of the public network, the state of education, the health system,” explains the spokeswoman for the citizens’ initiative, Solène Tanguay, in an interview. “The government must realize that the people in front of it are not just the striking workers.”
Legault’s comments are poorly received
Ms. Tanguay, mother and mother-in-law of five school-age children, did not particularly welcome Prime Minister François Legault’s outing, which called on teachers to return to work for the “good of the children.”
“There was an attempt to speak for us, but I think that Mr. Legault does not understand the temperature of the water,” said Solène Tanguay, who describes the prime minister as “disconnected.”
Solène Tanguay is spokesperson for the solidarity initiative for striking public sector workers.
An opinion shared by Anne, mother of three schoolchildren, who demonstrated in Quebec on Sunday.
“I felt like he wanted to make everyone feel guilty when all they were doing was defending our children,” she says. “[Les enseignants] If you know what’s happening in schools, it’s not François Legault in his office.
She hopes that negotiations will progress before the holidays.
“I’m on the board of my children’s school and we see the labor shortage in the daycare centers,” she says. “We see that things are not going well and that things have been getting worse for several years.”
This solidarity from citizens was well received by the striking teachers.
“It gives us courage to continue our fight,” said Karine Tanguay, an elementary school teacher and member of the Autonomous Education Federation. She hopes the government “recognizes that the population is aware of the needs and difficulties” in education.