Striking teachers from the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) will be able to breathe a little at Christmas, since they will receive money already taken from their paychecks in preparation for the holidays.
As the 66,500 teachers of this union are on an indefinite general strike, it is not a question of pay for days that will be worked, nor of a gift, but of their own money which is given to them.
At the Montreal School Service Center (CSSDM), it is explained that “the salary paid for the period from December 25 to January 5 is not affected by the strike.”
“In fact, this is part of the cumulative amount since the start of the 2023-2024 school year to allow payment over 26 pay periods,” writes Alain Perron, spokesperson for the CSSDM.
This is also the explanation given by the Marguerite-Bourgeoys school service center (CSSMB), the second largest in Quebec.
“CSSMB teachers receive vacation pay which covers the period from December 25, 2023 to January 5, 2024. This period is equivalent to a full pay period, or 3.85% of a teacher’s salary,” writes Mélanie Simard, communications manager for this service center.
“It is important to understand that, for teaching staff, these are not non-working public days, but rather an amount deducted from their salary and set aside by the employer, to allow the payment of this pay during the holiday season,” continues Mme Simard.
The FAE, whose members have been on strike since November 23, explains that it is up to each school service center to manage this aspect of the strike.
The CSSMB writes that this “way of proceeding is part of the collective agreement, a practice shared by all school service centers in the province.”
“Financial stress”
In an email sent Monday to its teachers, the CSSDM wrote that “the impact of the strike days may also continue on subsequent pay, depending on the duration of the strike.”
We understand the financial stress experienced and we all hope for an agreement between the national parties as soon as possible.
Marie Christine Hébert, director of the human resources department of the CSSDM
The striking teachers who are attached to the FAE do not have a strike fund. It is therefore, for them, the 19e day without pay which begins this Tuesday.
Initiatives to help them have multiplied in recent weeks. The Facebook group “Mutual aid for teachers on strike”, which pairs teachers in need with donors, provides an insight into the financial precariousness of some.
“When children aged 17, 14 and 12 tell you that they understand that they will not have presents at Christmas and you are trying to figure out how you are going to feed them for the next few weeks, we cannot remain indifferent. I therefore present to you a request for help from a couple of teachers from this region who need a helping hand,” we read for example on Monday.
According to the group’s administrators, 900 matches were made.
Several unions which are not in negotiations with Quebec for the renewal of their collective agreements have also made donations to the strikers.
The United Steelworkers and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), unions affiliated with the FTQ, made two donations of $100,000 in the form of grocery gift cards to public sector workers on strike.
The Unifor union, also affiliated with the FTQ, handed out $72,000 in grocery gift cards to public sector strikers, while the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) – better known as the Machinists Union – also offered a check for $65,000 to the strikers.
With The Canadian Press