Salary increases of 174 over five years sector strikes

Salary increases of 17.4% over five years | sector strikes in Quebec –

The Common Front secured pay increases of 17.4% over five years for the 420,000 public sector workers it represents, according to data circulating online.

This information was published and removed from a Common Front press release in recent days.

In terms of salaries, the Joint Front achieved increases of 17.4% over five years, which are accompanied by a purchasing power protection clause for each of the last three years of the collective agreement, as well as numerous improvements in working conditions, it says.

There are also clear advantages in group insurance and vacation, but also elements in connection with parental rights, the recruitment and retention of specialists and psychologists in particular, it continues.

Some improvements were achieved in the pension system and major setbacks were avoided. All this leads to several improvements achieved in industry agreements.

The Inter-Union Common Front consists of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), the Fédération des Travailleurs du Québec (FTQ) and the Alliance du Personnel Professionnel et Technique for Health and Social Services ( APTS).

A review by the authorities before presentation to members

The group, which represents some 420,000 civil servants, reached an agreement in principle with François Legault's government on December 28 after striking for 11 non-consecutive days.

Panels from CSQ, CSN, APTS and FTQ are meeting today to consider the government's proposal. They must confirm whether the content of the proposed agreements reached at the central table and at each of the sectoral tables actually constitutes, in principle, a global agreement.

Where appropriate, union members must vote on the agreements at general meetings. After a holiday season full of twists and turns, there is a certain cautious optimism among some public servants.

The fact that we are not heading towards an unlimited general strike is a good sign, says Yolaine Morel, an administrative technician.

Some of his colleagues are also trying to look on the bright side of things, although the vagaries of inflation continue to worry them. In any case, it is the inflation rate that concerns us very much. “We are at the beginning of our careers, so we don't want to get poorer,” notes Sarah Marineau, also an administrative technician. According to inflation calculations, this doesn't quite add up, estimates Sophie Hubert, teaching assistant. So to a certain extent we are losing purchasing power.

However, the latter is pleased with the progress made in the negotiations. The government's initial salary offer was 9% over five years. The Treasury then increased it to 10.3% for the same period in late October and to 12.7% in early December.