After the CSQ, it is the turn of the union members of the early childhood centers (CPEs) of the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN) to endow themselves with an unlimited strike mandate of 92.1%.
“Next Tuesday, if the attitude [du gouvernement] has not changed and that we are still facing the same wall, we will have no other choice than to launch an unlimited general strike for the next day, December 1, ”said Stéphanie Vachon, representative of the childcare sector at the FSSS-CSN at a press conference on Friday morning.
“By voting so massively, educators are really sending a clear message to the government and we hope that this message will be heard. “
On Wednesday, members of the Federation of Early Childhood Workers (FIPEQ), affiliated with the CSQ, voted 91.2% in favor of the indefinite strike. The mandate will be exercised before the holidays, at a time to be determined, FIPEQ president Valérie Grenon said.
Negotiations with the government were broken off last Friday evening after a few days of intensive negotiations. Quebec offered a significant salary increase to educators, but not to support staff, including kitchen, administration and maintenance employees.
For its part, Quebec raised the possibility of a special law. The President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, on Thursday invited the unions to be “reasonable” and to “resolve the situation”, claiming not to have the means to offer more to the support staff, whose salary would increase by 2% , as for all other government employees.
More details will follow.