Although the agreement in principle between the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE) and the government put an end to the indefinite general strike, some teachers are not very optimistic about the improvement of their working conditions and return to class which risks being very chaotic after 22 days of absence.
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“It’s going to be a mess,” says Geneviève Groleau, elementary school teacher.
In an interview on LCN, Mme Groleau fears that the agreement that will be presented to the teachers will not live up to his expectations and that all the sacrifices that have been made in recent weeks have been made in vain.
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“I have the impression that we are going to return to a collective agreement that will resemble the same one we have had in recent decades,” she maintains. The fact that the GGI [grève générale illimitée] is lifted, that’s the problem.”
The teacher fears that by succumbing to pressure, the FAE has resigned itself to accepting an agreement that will not meet the demands of staff in schools.
“It’s not fair to say we go back to school and we’ll see later. There will not be a second time, he was there the lever,” she explains.
An anxious return to class
Mme Groleau is not the only one to have concerns about the return of students to school in early January.
Although she is “super happy to go back to work and see the children again on January 8,” Jasmine Fortier, also an elementary school teacher, cannot help but feel “a little anxiety” in the face of the workload that ‘waits.
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In addition to being concerned about having to make up for lost school days, Mme Fortier admits she would like to know more about the proposal that was negotiated.
“We don’t know the agreement, we don’t know what’s in the agreement, so we hope it will be something that is satisfactory,” she said in an interview.
End of unlimited general strike; a sigh of relief
Mme Fortier was nevertheless relieved when she learned of the end of the indefinite general strike and this feeling is also shared by part of the population.
“This is good news for children and teachers,” said a man to TVA Nouvelles.
“There was no basis for the strike, it was starting to get hard,” he adds before specifying that he hopes that the agreement will be sufficient to improve the conditions of teachers.
A woman who works as a crossing guard also told TVA Nouvelles that “children need school” and that it was therefore necessary to put an end to the strike days.