Thousands of members of public and parastatal unions spoke out during the week about the fundamental agreements reached with the Ministry of Finance. What should we learn from the results?
• Also read: FAE: “A work overload bonus was negotiated”
• Also read: CSS teachers in Montreal accept the agreement, but two other unions reject it
· FAE
The teachers in Laval rejected it, while their colleagues in Montreal (Syndicat de l'enseignement de la Pointe-de-l'Île and the Alliance of Professors of Montreal) narrowly approved it.
After being involved in a 22-day, indefinite general strike, FAE-affiliated teachers have high expectations for class composition.
For many of them, the gains made by their union are not enough, reports former Quebec director of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), Marc Ranger.
“The FAE placed great emphasis on the composition of the class. Your members have really observed this. We feel that the results are a bit disappointing,” he emphasizes in an interview on LCN.
The final results, to be announced on February 7, will be based on two criteria.
Five out of nine unions must agree in principle to the agreement and a majority of members must vote to accept it.
Mr. Ranger is saddened by the consequences of the delays during the General Assembly of the Alliance of Professors of Montreal.
According to him, if the meeting had lasted five hours or less, the results would have been different.
“There are almost 1,500 members who left the meeting before the vote. The people who leave before the end are the ones who want to vote, who are in favor of the agreement. At some point, when it's a marathon, that's not true [que les gens vont rester]“, he complains.
“The two-hour debate at the beginning of the meeting greatly irritated members. It doesn't work either.
TVA News
· FSE CSQ
In Lanaudière, the faculties affiliated to the Common Front rejected the sectoral agreement in principle by 62%, while the intersectoral agreement was accepted by the members.
For their part, in Chaudière-Appalaches, members of a local teachers' union in Beauce ratified the sectoral agreement with 86%.
“Both at the FSE-CSQ, the majority union, and the FAE, we cannot allow public schools to make people unhappy,” he added.
· FSQ-CSQ and FIQ
While an arbitrator was appointed to negotiate between the FIQ and Quebec, health unions affiliated with the Common Front spoke out.
Support for sectoral and global agreements is “pretty strong,” says Marc Ranger.
However, part of Laval's nursing staff, represented by the CSQ, rejected the industry agreement.
Marc Vallieres/QMI Agency
According to the ex-trade unionist, this rejection can be explained by the ongoing negotiations with the FIQ, which represents around 80,000 members.
This union “will wait to achieve results that it knows will exceed the bar of the majority.”
*Watch the interview in the video above*