According to a Léger survey, the unions are so far winning the battle for public opinion in the negotiations with the government to renew collective agreements for civil servants.
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The poll shows that 47% of Quebecers support the Common Front’s position, while only 28% support the government’s position. The rest, one in four, have no opinion.
“So far it is one to zero for the Common Front, but the unions often start conflicts with a lead,” emphasized the deputy chairman of the Léger company, Christian Bourque.
“But there is a large proportion of people who have not yet spoken out, and they will decide what direction popular support will take in the future,” he adds. It’s not all over yet.”
Remember that the government’s latest offer is to increase the salaries of 600,000 civil servants by 10.3% over five years. In addition, there are bonuses of 3% for certain categories of employees, such as: B. Nurses working nights or weekends, as well as a lump sum payment totaling $1,000 in the first year.
Quebec therefore claims that its total supply will rise to 14.8% in five years, compared to 13% in its first offer. However, this proposal has been branded “ridiculous” by unions, who are demanding wage increases of 20% over three years. Dissatisfied, they are now on strike.
According to Mr Bourque, the coming weeks will be crucial for both the unions and the government in the battle for public opinion.
“If people feel there are too many work stoppages, popular favor might shift a little in favor of the government, and if the government allows the labor dispute to drag on, people might blame it. In short, it’s not won yet,” the pollster noted.
The survey was conducted online between November 3 and 6 among 1,015 Quebecers. It is not possible to calculate a margin of error for a sample from a panel, but for comparison, the maximum margin of error for a sample of 1015 respondents is +/- 3.1%, in 19 out of 20 cases.