The tone has changed in recent days in the State’s negotiations with its employees. The parties’ public outings have become less inopportune, as they rarely contribute to advancing the negotiation at the tables.
It becomes realistic to believe that a settlement is within reach by decoding the words of the representatives of the parties, mainly on the teaching side and the Common Front.
A return to normal at the start of 2024 is possible. This does not mean that everything will be resolved by the collective agreement and that certain problems will not persist. The dialogue must continue and structuring actions must be undertaken to relieve the burden of work and better meet the specific needs of pupils and students.
The road that remains to be covered, between now and a settlement, will still be strewn with pitfalls.
Excessive expectations
I believe that the end of the journey will be more difficult for the FAE after a month of strike. Members’ expectations will be high in proportion to the sacrifices they have made. The debates surrounding a possible agreement are likely to be heartbreaking.
The pressure should prove less strong on the side of the Common Front unions, because their members will have been less mortgaged economically. This does not protect them from heated debates because there will inevitably be disappointments when demands are not met.
On the side of the FIQ, the demands remain high without having the assurance that the population will support them to the end. If there are secret desires for special law on the part of the government, this will be the area to watch closely.
The end of the negotiation round often concludes with working committees which will continue to seek solutions to unresolved problems. Trust is generally low in these committees.
It will be the challenge for the parties to lend credibility to the necessary steps after the end of the negotiations.
Myths and reality
We talk a lot about the length of the strike and we are rightly concerned about the impact on students.
Although there have been much longer strikes previously, such as those in the Trois-Rivières and Sorel regions in the 1980s. The 1983 strike lasted 17 days. Many schools in Montérégie were closed for almost a month during the ice storm in 1998. We did not fear the effects of these closures for long, because the school was equipped to recover the lost time. This is unfortunately no longer true today.
However, inappropriate solutions should be avoided by considering transforming education into an essential service to restrict teachers’ right to strike. In 1983, under the rain of special laws, the strike was illegal. This did not prevent a 17-day strike.
In closing, I wish you happy holidays while we wait to see you again on December 30!