It is because they remained “faithful” to their demands on the composition of the class that the Laval teachers rejected the agreement in principle concluded with the government, believes the president of the union which represents them.
Thursday, the Laval Region Education Union (SERL) rejected by 68% the agreement in principle concluded with Quebec. This is the first member union of the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) to speak out against the agreement.
In interview with The Pressthe president of the SERL, who had recommended the rejection of the agreement, said that his members “remained faithful to the positions they had at the time of the indefinite general strike”.
“When we walked on the picket lines, people talked to us about the composition of the class, the working conditions, the learning conditions of the students, and about public schools as a whole. The members judged that the agreement did not meet these demands,” says André Arsenault, who has been at the head of this union for three years.
According to him, this is what made the difference in the vote of his members.
“The government decided that when it could not provide the necessary services, it was going to give a cash bonus to teachers. This is not what will make working conditions better, this is not what will make learning conditions better,” he continues.
While the FAE and other of its affiliated unions remain silent until the end of their members’ votes, the president of the SERL wants to set the record straight: the assembly is sovereign, he says in substance.
On Friday, teachers from Montreal and Laval deplored the length of the general assemblies and the late hour at which the votes took place.
“It’s the general assembly that makes the decision,” recalls André Arsenault. “We tried to color our presentation as little as possible. We were neutral so people could make their decision,” said the union president.
The participation rate of SERL teachers in Thursday’s vote is 41%. Around 2,700 teachers voted, out of a total of 6,500. André Arsenault believes that this is a “good participation rate”, considering, he says, that nearly 3,000 of these members are part-time or working. of replacement.
During the night from Thursday to Friday, the members of the Montreal Teachers’ Alliance, for their part, chose to ratify the agreement in principle, in a proportion of 52%.
With nearly 10,000 members, this union weighs heavily. Is this a hard blow for the Laval teachers’ union?
André Arsenault laughs when asked the question, but refuses to answer it. Yes, the Teachers’ Alliance is “a big piece,” he admits.
Voting by union members affiliated with the FAE will continue next week and until January 31. So far, three of the nine unions have spoken out. Two voted in favor of the deal.
The Pointe-de-l’Île Education Union (SEPÎ), in Montreal, adopted the agreement in principle by 58.5%. The union, which represents 4,384 teachers at the Pointe-de-l’Île school service center, recommended that its members reject this agreement in principle.
With Alice Girard-Bossé, The Press