(Montreal) Since an unlimited general strike mandate was strongly supported by its members, the Autonomous Education Federation nevertheless decided to give negotiations one last chance. She will not start a strike immediately.
Updated yesterday at 5:36 p.m.
Lia Lévesque The Canadian Press
She intends to carry out her strike assignment “at the appropriate time,” but has not yet decided on the date.
One of its committees met all day on Thursday to take stock of the strike votes in its nine unions and decide on how to proceed.
The parents will therefore be granted a reprieve for some time as the FAE has not yet set a date for the start of their possible strike. But she warns that she will do this if there is no significant progress at the negotiating tables.
Negotiations over the renewal of collective agreements with the Quebec government have been ongoing for months. The union demands were submitted last fall and Quebec submitted its offers in December.
Earlier this week, Treasury President Sonia LeBel called on public sector union organizations to trim their sectoral demands and reduce their numbers, as she herself plans to do. These are inquiries relating to working conditions – rather than salaries or pensions – in areas such as education or health.
The FAE understands it has already reduced its applications to speed progress towards an agreement with Quebec.
The FAE represents 65,500 members through its nine primary and secondary teaching unions.
Its unions are the Montreal Teachers’ Alliance, the West Montreal Teaching Union, the Pointe-de-l’Ile Teaching Union, the Laval Region and the Basses-Laurentides, that of the Seigneuries, that of Outaouais and that of Haute-Yamaska and that of the Quebec region.
The strike order demanded by the members is an indefinite general strike. The members do not intend to go through an intermediate stage such as isolated or group strike days, explained the president of the FAE, Mélanie Hubert.
Members of the FAE have already started using certain pressure tactics, such as boycotting meetings with management, boycotting training courses or refusing to organize certain extracurricular activities.