Convinced that the Quebec government is banking on the exhaustion of strikers, unions across Canada are mobilizing to provide financial support to public sector strikers in order to achieve better working conditions.
Members of the Common Front and FIQ return to work this Friday, but the approximately 66,500 teachers of the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) continue their indefinite general strike for a 17th day without pay and without strike benefits.
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announced a $100,000 donation Friday to support these workers who are under heavy financial strain.
These public servants form the backbone of our society, educating our children and caring for the entire population. They deserve all of our compassion and respect.
The AFPC also says it wants to help the Common Front and FAE strikers, the majority of whom are women. However, we hope that this donation in the form of a gift card to a grocery store will help relieve certain families from the impact of the current measures in the near future.
On Friday, Unifor, which describes itself as the largest private sector union in Canada with 315,000 members in the country, announced more than $70,000 in aid.
So far we have managed to raise $72,000, which we will give to the Coalition and the FAE so that we can distribute food gift cards to workers who need them most. […] We announced $72,000 this morning, but it's not over yet.
By calling for solidarity, he hopes that other unions will in turn support their colleagues in the public sector.
The machine union is not left out either. He announced $65,000 in aid to the strikers. It was David Chartrand, Canadian general vice-president of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, who made the announcement to excited strikers.
Last Monday, the Steelworkers union announced a $100,000 donation to help strikers.
There have been strikes in the public sector in Quebec for several weeks and negotiations on the renewal of collective agreements have been difficult, particularly in the education sector. The unions and the government are in a real stalemate.
On Wednesday, Prime Minister François Legault spoke of the hope that students would return to class on Monday, but two teachers' unions quickly came forward and warned against the prime minister's statements. News at the table [des négociations] are not encouraging, replied the FAE, which represents 40% of the teaching staff.
The other union, the Federation of Education Unions (FSE-CSQ), was equally skeptical about the impending deal as the Prime Minister had suggested.