After eleven days of strike, the Common Front adopts a proposal for a fundamental agreement at the central table on the renewal of collective agreements in the public sector.
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“On wages, the Common Front's objectives were based on two fundamental principles: protecting our 420,000 workers from inflation and achieving some overall catch-up in wages for all workers. And that is what guided us through this storm of negotiations to reach an agreement proposal,” the union group’s spokespeople announced in a press release.
In the coming days, union delegations will meet to fundamentally examine the key elements of this new agreement.
“This round of negotiations will be officially concluded when the working and practice conditions as well as salary conditions are deemed satisfactory,” the Common Front officials added.
Reaction from Quebec
The office of Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel also confirmed the proposal for an agreement in principle as part of negotiations to renew collective agreements in the public sector.
“This important agreement proposal with a term of five years (2023-2028) takes into account the improvement of the working conditions of public servants and the organization of work through greater flexibility of collective agreements,” wrote the minister's press secretary in the cabinet press release.
Bargain/Middle Table:
The Quebec government announces that it has approved in principle a proposed agreement with the Common Front.
The details of the agreement will remain confidential until union members decide on its contents. #polqc
— Sonia LeBel (@slebel19) December 28, 2023
The press release states that this agreement “is aimed at the 420,000 public servants affiliated to the Common Front unions”, namely the Centrale des syndicats nationaux (CSN), the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), the Fédération des Travailleurs and the Workers of Quebec (FTQ) and the Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services (APTS).
However, “the details of the proposed agreement remain confidential until members of the Common Front trade union organizations have expressed their views on its content.”