This text is part of the special booklet Defining priorities on the large table of commitments
One month before the elections, the Quebec Federation of Labor (FTQ) has already put its demands on the table for the next government. Claims that touch on current issues, such as the environment, health and education.
“Finally, our priorities return, substantially identical, year after year,” says the president of the FTQ, Daniel Boyer. For him, the elections are the right time to be heard. The FTQ and its affiliates represent more than 600,000 Quebec workers. The election campaign is an opportunity to make their voices heard.
“Elections are always a good opportunity for us to talk about our expectations and our vision for a fairer and more equal society. It is during this period that political orientations are taken and become electoral issues that can influence government decisions,” he says.
Already in June, the FTQ had launched an advertising campaign on the radio to criticize the record of the Legault government. Knowing that the election period will be short-lived, the organization wants to be ready to make sure that the issues close to its heart will not be forgotten.
A platform in the image of workers
Before writing its platform, the union organization had consulted Quebecers, with the firm Léger, on their interests and priorities, in a context of galloping inflation and rising interest rates.
There were few surprises on the five main topics mentioned, notes Daniel Boyer: Quebecers want first of all reinvestments in the health network, an improvement in the education network, a better fight against climate change, improving the lives of the elderly and better work-family balance.
“Finally, their concerns are the same as those put forward, and this allows us to challenge the parties on their commitments. We put subjects back in the public space, so that they are seen and heard”, he underlines.
Environment, education and health
According to the president of the FTQ, despite the voting intentions in favor of the CAQ, Quebecers remain dissatisfied with the government’s record in health, environment and education. The FTQ’s platform therefore includes nine priorities, which range from raising the minimum wage to $18 to implementing a public and universal prescription drug insurance plan.
“The price of our drugs is exploding. Our plan is becoming more and more expensive and, in Quebec, 15% of people cannot afford medication. This has consequences for our health system, ”he says.
The FTQ is also campaigning for the fight against climate change to become a priority for the government and be accompanied by an energy transition, promoting the training and reorientation of the workers who will be affected. Daniel Boyer believes that these changes are essential, but that the province is slow to react.
Labor shortage
Another point on which Daniel Boyer insists is the importance of work-family balance, which has been exacerbated during the pandemic and for which the FTQ is asking for a framework law. Because if he feels an opening on the side of certain employers, it will take in-depth and political changes, according to him.
“Employment conditions are important, and some of them must be upgraded with shortages, such as health and education,” he said. Possible solutions: more stable schedules, more holidays and vacations.
Question and note the parties
As is the tradition at each election, the various party leaders are then invited to meet the members of the union organization’s Board of Directors to respond to each of the demands put forward.
This makes it possible to produce a comparative table of each person’s commitments on the FTQ website. ” There are smilies. When the claim is fulfilled, it is a smile, otherwise the smiley doubtful or dissatisfied,” explains Daniel Boyer.
But the unions are not there only to criticize, recalls Daniel Boyer, they are also ready to sit down with the political parties to find lasting solutions intended for the well-being of the workers.
And for the president of the FTQ, there is no question of telling Quebecers who to vote for. Rather, it is about “putting the spotlight on decisions that do not meet the priorities of the people and the commitments made by party leaders on the issues that interest them”. The union also assures that it will not support any political party.