The negotiating committee of the CSN-affiliated Federation of Health and Social Services (FSSS-CSN), the largest union organization in the health and social services sector in Quebec, reached the hypothesis of fundamental agreement with the government on Saturday evening. Several union organizations in the education sector have also reached an agreement with Quebec.
This hypothesis of general agreement with the FSSS-CSN concerns sectoral issues, namely working conditions. However, the details remain confidential until union members decide on the content.
We'll talk about itfundamental agreement if the relevant authorities have done so supported the settlement hypothesis. We'll talk about itagreement simply when the members have voted in principle for the agreement.
The wage issues, which are among the central issues, must be resolved in order to prevent an unlimited general strike by the Common Front at the beginning of 2024, the union responded in a press release.
This hypothesis will be presented to the union delegates as soon as possible, although we will also have a general acceptance hypothesis for the central table, specifies the FSSS-CSN, which represents more than 120,000 workers.
For its part, the government stated in a press release that the measures agreed in the unification hypothesis will enable a better work-life balance, improve the service offering during unfavorable work shifts with better working conditions and ensure a more flexible work organization.
Breakthroughs in educational negotiations
The CSQ-affiliated Federation of Education Professionals of Quebec (FFPE-CSQ) reached a proposal for a global agreement with the government on Saturday.
This proposal concerns the sectoral working conditions of specialist staff and will be presented to the Federal Council of the Federation on December 27th.
Despite the hypothesis that an agreement will be reached […], the problem remains unresolved in terms of the issues at the central table. In particular, salary issues must be resolved to prevent an indefinite general strike by the Common Front in early 2024, said the organization, which represents 19 unions with 12,500 members spread across almost all school service centers and school boards in Quebec, French-speaking, English-speaking, Cree and Kativik.
The negotiating committee of the 35,000-member school sector of the Federation of Public Service Employees (FEESP-CSN) also put forward the hypothesis of a principled industry agreement.
The same applies to the Federation of Professional College Staff (FPPC-CSQ), which represents the professional staff of many CEGEPs, and to the Alliance of CEGEP Teachers' Unions (ASPPC), which plans to present this draft contract to its union delegates shortly after the New Year.
In particular, insurance, salaries, retirement, regional differences and parental rights still need to be resolved across sectors, said Éric Cyr, president of the FPPC, in a video published on Facebook on Saturday evening.
Lightning negotiations with the FAE
Negotiations between the government and the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) are intensifying after an agreement was reached with the CSQ-affiliated Federation of Education Unions (FSE) and the Provincial Association of Quebec Teachers (APEQ).
Negotiations with the FAE lasted all night and will continue on Saturday. In an interview on the program Les faits d'abord on ICI Première, the President of the FAE, Mélanie Hubert, confirmed that it was a lightning negotiation.
“There are still topics of discussion and answers still need to be found, but I can confirm that things are working very well as of yesterday,” she said.
She admitted that the agreement with the FSE paves the way a little for the FAE. There is still scope for peripheral issues. [mais] We had the same concerns about the composition of the class and about reducing the workload, explained Ms. Hubert.
Nevertheless, she emphasized that the work is not yet finished. Certain clauses may vary from collective bargaining agreement to collective bargaining agreement, she said. It is not impossible that we have the same goals but are used differently.
Open in full screen mode
The President of the Autonomous Teaching Federation (FAE), Mélanie Hubert, in an interview with Radio-Canada.
Photo: Radio-Canada
A strike that continues
The FAE members have been on an indefinite general strike for a month and are not receiving any compensation due to a lack of strike pay.
It was very difficult for everyone. Mélanie Hubert admitted that no one would have expected it to take so long to intensify the discussions.
We couldn't have predicted that it would take this long and that the government would keep services closed for so long.
On Saturday, donations were distributed in several cities across the province for teachers who have been on an indefinite general strike for 22 days.
In Gatineau, many of them lined up to get something to eat.
It's hard to absorb. […] I have been teaching for 18 years and this is the first time I am considering a change [de métier]one of them confided.
Single-parent families and families in which both parents are on strike are struggling to make ends meet.
Normally we are more on the giving side than the receiving side, but the strike is affecting both of our salaries and the family's entire income has been lost for more than a month, putting us in a precarious position. said another teacher.
In addition, the possibility of a continuation of the strike in January 2024 is not excluded, said the President of the FAE.
“We will not sign a discount agreement,” she emphasized. We will invest the necessary time and energy to reach an agreement.
No details until January
The details of the agreement concluded between the government and the FSE, which specifically relates to working conditions in schools, will only be presented to the general meeting in January and will then be made public.
Call the teachers on the 25th or 26th [décembre] or between Christmas and New Year, that is unthinkable, said a former president of the Confederation of National Unions (CSN), Jacques Létourneau, on ICI RDI.
However, several members are concerned about the agreement and fear that its content will not be satisfactory.
There has been little progress in negotiations with the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), despite the appointment of an arbitrator earlier this week.
With information from Sébastien Bovet, François Joly and Élyse Allard