“Now the word is with our members”: The agreement in principle between Quebec and the Common Front is now in the hands of the 420,000 workers of the cross-union grouping, which includes CSN, CSQ, FTQ and APTS.
The unions presented on Sunday the details of the agreement reached with Quebec at the end of December. General meetings will take place from January 15th to February 19th, at which members can vote on salary and industry offers in a secret ballot.
The proposal, which has now qualified as an agreement in principle, provides for salary increases of 17.4% over five years, including 6% in the first year, retroactive to April 1, 2023. This is “the highest increase in the public sector in a year”. [dans les] “The last forty years,” said CSQ President Éric Gingras.
The unions also negotiated a purchasing power protection clause for the final three years of the agreement. If the increase in the consumer price index is greater than the increase provided for in the agreement, the salary increases will be increased retroactively by up to 1%.
Remember that the December 2022 government offer was for increases of 9% over five years, that of October 2023 of 10.3% and that of December 2023 of 12.7%. The government also proposed paying lump sums, which is not the case in the agreement presented to union members.
Only psychologists are entitled to an additional 10% salary increase. There is also a bonus of 6.5% for full-time psychologists in the health and education networks.
The agreement also fundamentally provides for an increase in the recruitment and retention bonus from 10% to 15% to address the shortage of skilled workers. “For these workers […], which is an increase of 22.4%. »
“We also managed to keep the weekly working hours at 35 hours per week, while the employer wanted to increase them to 37.5 hours in most cases,” explains APTS President Robert Comeau.
“Not just salaries”
When asked about the difficulty of making such an offer to members of the Common Front, the president of the FTQ, Magali Picard, recalled this, given that police officers of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) were offered a 21% salary increase The proposal was part of a whole.
“It's not just the salaries, it's the salaries and also the issues that are sectoral,” she argued. The agreement rejected by the SQ was “less than what we need to present to our members,” Common Front spokespeople argued.
Ms Picard highlighted the other gains made at the central table (other than salary increases), including the acquisition of the right to the fifth week of holiday after 15 years of service. This 5th week is fully achieved from 19 years of service instead of 25. “An extremely important step forward” and one that has long been desired by members, said the President of the FTQ.
APTS President Robert Comeau reported improvements to the pension plan, with the possibility of extending progressive retirement arrangements up to 7 years instead of 5 years. Public sector employees were also eligible to participate in the government and public corporation pension plan up to the age of 71.
Otherwise, some would have been forced to work longer hours, “elements that prevent people from coming to work in the health and social services network,” Mr. Comeau argued. Additional government contributions to group insurance should also be taken into account.
A word from the members
“Is everything perfect?” asks the President of the CSQ, Éric Gingras. The answer is no, and everyone knows it. » As for whether he officially recommends the agreement to its members, Mr. Gingras indicated that it contains measures that would improve working conditions and improve retention and attraction in various sectors.
“On the FTQ side, [l’entente] is recommended,” said the President of the FTQ, Magali Picard, clearly.
The government reiterated several times during the negotiations that it wanted more flexibility. The Common Front considers that it has “not retreated” at the central table and points out that each sectoral grouping will be able to take stock of possible compromises on flexibility.
Treasury President Sonia LeBel said in a written statement Sunday that “the fundamental agreements we have reached are responsible, balanced and in line with the will of Quebecers.”