After rejecting the offer presented by Quebec on Tuesday, the Federation of Education Trade Unions (FSE-CSQ), for its part, presented a counter-proposal on Wednesday morning “with the aim of resuming talks in order to reach an agreement before the holidays.” The Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) is meeting today to discuss the government offer.
“True to the discussions of the last few days, this one [le dépôt] is based on the teachers’ priorities, namely the composition of the class and the reduction of the task,” writes the union on social networks.
The FSE-CSQ had described the new offer presented by Quebec on Tuesday as a “smoke and mirrors show” and reiterated that it represented “major setbacks” in the negotiations. For his part, Education Minister Bernard Drainville spoke of “significant improvements” and said the Legault government was “putting many things on the table”.
For its part, the FAE, whose teachers have been on an indefinite general strike since November 23, announced on Wednesday morning that its Federal Negotiating Council is currently meeting to discuss with its member unions the offer received on Tuesday. “We will inform you as soon as the court has decided,” the union wrote on social networks.
CSQ President Eric Gingras complained during a Common Front press conference on Wednesday morning that the latest offers presented by the government do not take union demands into account, despite signs of openness reported earlier in the week.
“We see vacancies related to the priorities of teachers and colleagues in the association [FSE]. And if we come up with an argument that we continue to hammer into public opinion, into the public space, that doesn't even reflect the discussions of the last few days. »
The government continues to respond to union demands for adjustments in class composition by providing additional staff to support teachers.
“As far as the composition of the class is concerned, I would like to give an example: there are requests from the association, we are not open and we say that, for example, the help for the class will sort everything out,” emphasized Éric Gingras. We still stand on the same foundations that we denounced a few weeks ago. »
Great concerns
Nicolas Prévost, president of the Fédération québécoise des Directions d'Establishments d'Enseignement, believes that the impact of this forced seven-week vacation on students whose teachers belong to the FAE “will be even more dramatic” than on schools during the COVID-19 pandemic closed.
“There is no service [offert aux élèves], he said. There is no communication. Even though not all places were able to quickly implement distance learning during the pandemic, there was still teacher-student communication. »
According to Nicolas Prévost, it is certain that students will not have 180 days of classes this year. The association's members interviewed this week see two options for rearranging the school calendar: converting the remaining teaching days into teaching days and condensing end-of-year ministerial exams in secondary schools to a shorter period than “usual”. two to three weeks.”
For his part, the spokesman for the Regroupement des Committees de Parents Nationaux du Québec (RCPAQ), Sylvain Martel, believes that the “worst scenario” is happening: students whose teachers are affiliated with the FAE will “slip” during the holidays without compensation after I for had returned to school for a week.
“And there, this scenario of returning to classes on January 8th, it’s slowly becoming lame,” continues Sylvain Martel. These are not good news. »
In order for students who have been on compulsory leave for a month to return to class, the FAE must reach an agreement with the government, but the Common Front is also doing so, as support staff and daycare teachers are part of the grouping of four unions.
Many parents are worried, emphasizes Sylvain Martel. “We have never received so many messages from parents as we do now. Even in a pandemic, we haven't had that many. » He fears that during this long absence there will be a phenomenon similar to the “summer slide”, that is, that young people will lose their academic skills, as happens during the summer holidays. “When school starts again on January 8th, many students will have been absent for seven weeks,” he notes. Summer lasts eight weeks. »
With Alexandre Robillard