The Treasury Department president defended her overall offer of nearly 15% submitted to the Common Front and regretted the “swift” response from union leaders on Sunday.
• Also read: Common Front calls Quebec’s offer ‘ridiculous’
In an interview with TVA Nouvelles 12 h, Sonia Lebel reiterates that the addition of new amounts for the 420,000 members of four major trade union organizations is not “trivial”.
“I am a little surprised by the unions’ quick and rigorous response,” she stressed, adding that their offer was “serious.”
“We are talking about salary parameters that are between 9% and 10.3%, recurring, so we are adding the first year to the agreement […] These amounts affect the pockets of all public servants, in total we are talking about 15%. I think this is an offer that shows the seriousness of the government in wanting to discuss these negotiations,” emphasized the minister and MP for Champlain.
TVA News
On the LCN set, the politician assured that her improved offer required extensive analysis from the unions and described their media release as “quick”.
The Common Front described the deposit as “ridiculous” at a press conference, pointing out that the offer was not keeping pace with expected inflation.
TVA News
“I’m very surprised at how quickly we brush aside a nearly 2% increase that’s worth almost a billion dollars,” she said.
When asked about the FTQ president’s comments, the politician assured that she was not “disconnected from the population”.
The FIQ, which is not part of the Common Front, was also disappointed by Quebec’s offer.
A strike by more than 420,000 Common Front union members is planned for November 6th.
*Watch the full interview in the video above*
Negotiation/4. Deposit: We offer a total increase of almost 15%. All temporary premiums, except those related to the health emergency, are extended. The share reserved for differentiated offers increases to 3%. We hope for constructive feedback from the unions to move forward. #polqc
— Sonia LeBel (@slebel19) October 29, 2023