(Montreal) The 25,000 professionals of the Quebec government, who had recently voted in favor of a strike mandate, are postponing its possible exercise until 2024.
These are 25,000 members of the public service unit of the Union of Government Professionals of Quebec (SPGQ) – a large union independent of the central offices, which has not yet walked out so far.
They work in different ministries and government agencies. They are computer analysts, inspectors, biologists, accountants, land surveyors, for example.
A union body met in recent days and decided to give negotiations with the Treasury Board a chance until the end of the year, before considering exercising this strike mandate.
It is also not certain that a strike will take place in January 2024. It is the possibility of triggering such a strike which has been postponed to 2024, explained the SPGQ on Monday. The union says it wants to stay in step with what is happening at the bargaining table.
About ten days ago, SPGQ members voted in favor of two strike mandates, a more moderate one, which provides for evening, weekend and public holiday strikes, supported by 80%, and a more muscular, which provides for a strike which can be deployed in minutes, in hours, in days and which can go as far as an unlimited strike, supported by 70%.
An SPGQ body then met to decide what it would do following these two strike mandates. And she decided to give plenty of room for negotiation until the end of the year and to postpone the possible exercise of one of these strike mandates until 2024.