Heavier pressure tactics could begin soon in family daycare services, as 9,000 workers have just voted in favor of a pressure tactics mandate which provides for an increasingly later opening of the service, which could go up to ‘to a day of strike.
These are 9,000 family daycare providers in 17 regions of Quebec who are members of unions of the Fédération des interventionantes en petite jeunesse (FIPEQ), affiliated with the CSQ.
They want to put pressure on the Quebec government to move forward more quickly with negotiations for the renewal of their collective agreement.
The mandate that they adopted, in a proportion of 95%, provides for a later opening of the daycare service, every day of the week, for four weeks.
The first week, the daycare would open half an hour later; the second week, an hour later; the third week, an hour and a half later; and the fourth week, two hours later.
The mandate also provides for a half-day strike and a full day of strike, but to be exercised only at the appropriate time – which would not necessarily be after the first four weeks of delayed opening of the daycare service.
“We’re going to wish we didn’t use it. This is our ultimate means. We will try to put pressure on things to move things differently. But if we don’t have a choice, we don’t have a choice! » said Valérie Grenon, president of FIPEQ, in an interview.
If necessary, parents will be notified at least 10 working days in advance, in order to find an alternative solution, she said.
“It won’t be in the next few days, but it could go faster than we think,” warned Mme Grenon.
Negotiations with Quebec are not over yet; a session is planned again this week.
Mme Grenon, however, affirms that the financial question has not yet been addressed. Only some of the normative clauses have been, such as the reception of children and the structure with the coordinating offices.
Family daycare service providers do not receive an hourly wage per hour, like workers in early childhood centers, for example. Instead, they receive a subsidy from the Ministry of Families to cover their remuneration, food to buy for the children, toys, items necessary for daycare, etc.
FIPEQ is the union organization with the largest number of members in home daycare services. There are also thousands of them in the CPEs, but it is not the majority there.