The Legault government and the Common Front are setting the table for Christmas. Basic agreements on working conditions have now been concluded with around 85% of the 420,000 employees. And throughout the night there were intense negotiations at the central table, suggesting a possible agreement on salary increases this Sunday.
Updated at 12:15 p.m.
A day after reaching an agreement in principle with the 95,000 CSQ teachers, the dominoes began to fall quickly on Saturday. Quebec reached an agreement in the evening with the largest union in the health sector, the Federation of Health and Social Services of the CSN (FSSS-CSN) and several unions in the education network.
Then early Sunday morning an agreement was announced with the Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services (APTS) and its 65,000 members.
Three other CSQ-affiliated unions then announced that morning that they had also reached an agreement with the government, namely the Fédération du personal de support de l'enseignement supérieur (FPSES-CSQ), the Fédération de la santé du Québec (FSQ -CSQ) and the Federation of School Support Personnel (FPSS-CSQ).
These agreements at the industry tables regarding working conditions affect more than 360,000 of the 420,000 workers of the Inter-union Common Front (CSN, FTQ, CSQ and APTS).
Last Wednesday, the Joint Front threatened to launch an indefinite general strike in January unless an agreement was reached by the end of the year. In the fall, its members stopped work for eleven days in three episodes (one day, then three and finally seven). But Saturday's speech was anything but bellicose: we recognized that the negotiations were progressing very well.
The traffic lights were green at both the sector tables and the center table. An agreement by December 25th was possible, it was said behind the scenes.
For its part, the Legault government recalled on Saturday that its goal is to reach an agreement before Christmas, another sign that achieving the goal seems possible.
In addition, a negotiation war was underway with the Autonomous Federation for Education (FAE), which is not part of the Common Front and whose members have been on strike for a month. There is no talk of signing a “discount agreement,” despite the goal of concluding a settlement before December 25, the president warned.
The Interprofessional Health Federation of Quebec (FIQ), which is also not part of the Common Front, said it was continuing negotiations in the presence of an arbitrator appointed last Tuesday.
Healthcare agreements
The government has dealt a major blow to the health sector by reaching an agreement in principle at the largest public sector industry table, which concerns the 120,000 workers of the Federation of Health and Social Services (FSSS-CSN).
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
Picket outside Notre Dame Hospital in Montreal, November 6
This agreement, which concerns working conditions, must be submitted to the union delegates for approval before being presented to members of the FSSS-CSN at future general meetings. However, the union warns that delegates will only be informed about the content “when we have a fundamental agreement for both the branch table and the central table”.
Details of the new agreement remain confidential for the time being. According to the government, it will in particular ensure “a better work-life balance” and make it possible to “improve the service offering during unfavorable work shifts through better working conditions”.
However, the union claims the “problem” still exists over salary issues.
After nightly negotiations, the APTS reached a possible agreement with Quebec. A member of the Common Front, the union represents 65,000 members, the majority of professional and technical staff in Quebec's public health and social services sectors.
“For just over a year, we have been working hard to improve the conditions of practice and practice of the professionals and technicians who are members of the APTS and to better recognize their expertise in order to address the labor shortage and work overload in our public network,” explained Robert Comeau , president of APTS, in a press release on Sunday morning.
“The gains made today would increase the attractiveness and retention of our 108 job titles,” says Mr. Comeau, whose union is a member of the cross-union common front in the current public sector negotiations.
One situation stands out: no FTQ union has so far announced an agreement with the government at the industry tables.
Advances in Education
The discussions led to several industry tables in the education sector on Saturday evening.
After several days of intensive discussions, the Federation of Education Professionals of Quebec (FPPE-CSQ), which brings together 12,400 members, reached a proposed global agreement with the employer. The same applies to the Federation of Professional College Personnel (FPPC-CSQ), which brings together the majority of CEGEP professional staff.
Quebec, still sitting at a sectoral table, reached an agreement on Saturday evening with the 20,500 members of the Alliance of CEGEP Teachers, which brings together the unions of the National Federation of Teachers of Quebec (FNEEQ-CSN) and the Federation of CEGEP Teachers ( FEC CSQ).
The Federation of Public Service Employees School Sector Negotiating Committee (FEESP-CSN), which represents 35,000 school support staff across the province, also agreed in principle with the government on a possible deal. Around midnight, the Federation of CSN Professionals (FP-CSN) announced two possible agreements in principle for more than 6,200 members working in the healthcare and CEGEP network. An agreement was then reached with the 6,000 support staff in the CSN CEGEPs.
Result: The CSN has a principle agreement hypothesis in all its sectoral tables.
Negotiations between Quebec and the FAE intensified last night. “It’s been intense since then [vendredi]“Hard work is being done, but there are still discussions and issues to be negotiated, so I will hold back,” confirmed the president of the FAE, Mélanie Hubert, in an interview on the program “Les faits d'abord”. on Radio Canada. Note that the Common Front union leaders canceled their appearance on this program at the last minute.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESS ARCHIVE
Mélanie Hubert, President of the Autonomous Education Federation
“We always aimed to reach an agreement before the holidays, but we will not sign a concessionary agreement,” Ms. Hubert reiterated when asked whether the FAE and its 66,500 members could continue their indefinite general strike after the holidays.
Mélanie Hubert does not hesitate to describe the negotiations currently taking place as a “blitz”, “since we have been working pretty continuously”. Otherwise, neither the government nor the FAE wanted to comment officially on the progress of the negotiations.
A mixed reaction
The pressure on the FAE increased after the start of a negotiation offensive between the government and the Federation of Education Unions (FSE-CSQ) was announced.
This union, which represents 60% of teachers, finally announced on Friday evening that its delegates had ratified a draft regulation agreed with the government the night before. This fundamental agreement must be presented to the members of the FSE-CSQ “after the holidays,” said President Josée Scalabrini.
News of an agreement with the FSE-CSQ on Friday was greeted with mixed emotions by several FAE teachers among the approximately 200 to 300 teachers who came to pick up food at a Knights of Columbus hall in LaSalle on New Year's Eve . of Christmas.
Some emphasized the importance of not signing a “discount agreement.” “I don't lose hope, I tell myself that we didn't do all this in vain,” summarized Sandrine Décarie-Robillard, adding that she was “proud” of the position that the FAE has taken so far.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
Hundreds of teachers attended a Knights of Columbus center in LaSalle on Saturday where a food distribution was taking place.
Others were bitter about the rival union's agreement, which only allowed for half as many strike days. “ [La FSE]They don't stand up and say, “We're going to benefit from their fight.” » But yes, it was our fight that got them there. Yes, it is easier for them to arrive and there are already successes, we are already there,” says Mathieu Lepage.
“Perhaps the demands were less bold than that [celles de] the FAE and that an agreement was therefore easier? », Qualified Emmanuelle Pin for her part.
I have no animosity towards the FSE, I believe it has done what needed to be done for the majority of teachers.
Emmanuelle Pin
The sight of this huge queue of teachers who had been deprived of pay for several weeks prompted Céléna Du Nord, one of the organizers of this distribution, to say: “Nobody expected us to go there.”
“It's sad to see that we are pushed to this point, because yes, there are demands that help us in our profession, but we are doing it for the well-being of young people, this strike – there.” »