Thousands of striking teachers from the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) demonstrated in the streets of Montreal on Tuesday. When the strike hurts the wallets of strikers who are not paid and thousands of children are excluded from school, many of them do not want to enforce a return-to-class agreement at any cost.
“We feel like the negotiations are moving forward, that things are moving forward a little bit,” said Catherine Sayad, an elementary school teacher. We can't wait for the issue to be resolved, we can't wait to find our students and return to class, but we will not do it under any circumstances. »
The 65,500 FAE teachers have been on strike since November 23rd and without strike pay, many are experiencing financial difficulties. “We've come so far in our approach that I don't think anyone wants to go back to the cheap classes in the classroom,” said Claudia, a sixth-grade teacher who preferred not to give her last name. We can't wait to see our little wolves again, but not at any cost because we have made many sacrifices to date. »
As with all the teachers Le Devoir spoke to at the demonstration, it is the progress in the composition of the class that matters most when it comes to accepting or not a fundamental agreement.
“We have increasingly difficult conditions,” emphasizes Claudia, who is by no means convinced that the solution lies in making it easier for teachers to deal with students with learning difficulties or adjustment difficulties using non-specialized teaching aids. “We really want to provide a real service to our students without feeling like we are sacrificing one to the detriment of the other,” adds Catherine Sayad.
We feel that the negotiations are progressing, that things are progressing a little bit. We can't wait for the issue to be resolved, we can't wait to find our students and return to class, but we will not do it under any circumstances.
Even if the discussions at the negotiating table on Monday were more productive, the FAE is still dampening hopes of a near agreement. “We will judge the tree by its fruits and what we can say at the moment is that the fruits are not yet ripe,” emphasized the vice president of the Autonomous Federation of Teaching, Patrick Bydal, in an interview with Le Devoir.
“Even though we have been in negotiations for 11 months and there have been 70 meetings, the government has still not listened to our demands,” he continued. Yesterday the government finally started talking about our demands. »
Treasury President Sonia LeBel said Monday afternoon that negotiations with the FAE were entering a “crucial phase” and “provide a glimpse of an agreement that could benefit students and teachers.” “We now have the essential elements on the table to get along,” she explained. A statement that the FAE welcomes with caution.
Catherine Sayad has little hope of a quick conclusion to a fundamental agreement. “No,” she simply answers when asked. “I don’t take anything for granted. »
The Common Front is on strike
There was also no optimism at the picket line set up in front of the University of Montreal Hospital Center (CHUM) on Tuesday.
“We are a little discouraged […]“There is nothing moving,” laments Anick Mailhot, president of the CHUM employees union, affiliated with the CSN and part of the Common Front, whose members are on strike from December 8th to 14th. “The decisions that are made [le 19 décembre] That is, if we go on an indefinite general strike after the holidays. “That will probably happen because the government won’t hear anything,” she added. A sentiment shared by other strikers on the picket line.
Sonia LeBel accused unions on Monday of expectations being “far too high to be realistic” and assured that “discussions are taking place 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, continuously, at all levels and with all unions.” . Could it be time for unions to make further concessions?
“We have been making concessions for 25 years,” emphasizes Anick Mailhot. It's time the government doesn't just think about the private sector. »