After 22 days of indefinite general strike, the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) will present to its Federal Negotiating Council on Thursday the global solution proposal negotiated with the Quebec government.
The two camps agreed on a settlement proposal on Wednesday evening that covers both wages and working conditions.
In a press release, the FAE announced that it would present the contents of this proposal to the nine affiliated member unions at a federal bargaining session on Thursday. If he gives his consent, the proposal will become an agreement in principle and will be presented to the members of the FAE at the general meetings after the holidays.
“We will leave it to our committee to decide whether this is an agreement in principle that meets the urgent needs of teachers and their students,” replied Mélanie Hubert, president of the FAE, in a statement.
The FAE's 66,500 members have just spent 22 days on the streets without pay to make their voices heard. “We will respect our democratic processes before commenting further,” she added.
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The President of the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE), Mélanie Hubert.
Photo: Radio-Canada
Treasury President Sonia LeBel and Education Minister Bernard Drainville confirmed the general settlement proposal with the FAE, which came about after four days of lightning negotiations.
The proposal concerns elements related to remuneration and work organization, such as the organization of tasks and conditions of employment. This agreement targets 40% of teachers in the school network.
This agreement hypothesis represents a glimmer of hope for teachers, but also for parents who hope for a return to classes in early January.
However, Sylvain Mallette, teacher and former president of the FAE, tempers expectations and recalls that negotiations are a complex process.
It is not over till it's over. We have to look at things according to the needs we have, the demands we have made and whether this agreement will make it possible to improve the everyday life of teachers, he explained on Thursday in an interview on the program D'abord l ' the information.
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The Regroupement des Committees de Parents Nationaux du Québec hopes to return to class on January 9th.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Ivanoh Demers
Equally cautious, Sylvain Martel, spokesman for the Regroupement des Committees de Parents Nationaux du Québec (RCPAQ), believes that this is a priori [d’une] good news.
All of this remains speculative and there are still steps to be taken. And we still have to modulate the good news because we are currently in the worst scenario that we imagined a month ago, that is that the strike lasts until the holidays, he said in an interview with RDI.
We are considering a possible return to school on January 9th […], That's good news. We can begin to rebuild and help our students so they can catch up and complete their school year as fully and successfully as possible.
Pressure on the FAE
Last Friday, the Federation of Education Trade Unions (FSE-CSQ) and the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (APEQ) approved a proposed sectoral agreement with the Legault government, which came as part of negotiations to renew their collective agreements.
The Federation of Quebec Workers (FTQ) said the Laval-Rive-Nord skilled workers' union (SPPLRN-SCFP) also reached an agreement on working conditions on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday.
All FTQ-affiliated public sector unions and members of the cross-union Common Front now have an agreement in principle or proposed regulation on sectoral issues related to working conditions.
The government managed to implement an encirclement strategy. The FAE was isolated because the government turned to other trade union organizations and quickly concluded industry agreements, which put pressure on the FAE, emphasized Sylvain Mallette.
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Former President of the Autonomous Education Federation, Sylvain Mallette. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Karine Mateu
The difference, in my opinion, is that the FAE has managed to negotiate salaries. We will have to see what this agreement says in terms of salaries. “It is not everything in a negotiation, but it occupies an important place,” continued the teacher, who was chairman of the FAE from 2008 to 2022.
The scenario of a GGI in 2024 is not ruled out
The details of the various proposals with the trade union bodies in the education sector remain confidential for the time being. However, the Quebec government revealed in a press release the main themes addressed in the agreement's hypotheses.
Regarding the care staff in the school network, he claims that various measures agreed will make it possible to reduce precarity and promote more full-time positions, as more working time will be offered to the care staff, who will take on new responsibilities for supporting and supporting the school class.
These measures will therefore allow support staff to be promoted while teachers will be able to devote more time to teaching, which will also benefit students, according to the office of the Minister in charge of Government Administration and President of the Ministry of Finance, Sonia LeBel.
Even though fundamental agreements and proposed solutions have been reached on industry-specific working conditions, discussions on salary issues will continue at the central table, the FTQ said. The proposals will only be presented to members of the Common Front once an agreement in principle has been ratified at the central table.
The Inter-Union Common Front – which includes the FTQ, the CSN, the CSQ and the APTS and represents 420,000 public sector workers – is still threatening to launch an indefinite general strike in early 2024 unless a satisfactory agreement is reached at the central table .
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The Interunion Common Front represents 420,000 public sector workers. (archive photo)
Photo: Radio-Canada / Tifa Bourjouane
Last weekend, several advances were made at sectoral tables in the areas of health and education, while many unions announced that they had reached preliminary agreements in principle on their working conditions.
Talks between the various unions and the Finance Ministry resumed on Tuesday after a 24-hour break.
After all these announcements, pressure is now growing on the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), which is negotiating individually with the government. The FIQ has still not reached a possible agreement at its sectoral tables.
With information from The Canadian Press