CEGEP employees who are members of the Union of Professionals of the Government of Quebec (SPGQ) have accepted the agreement in principle reached with the employer party.
Nearly 93% of the 500 members who voted approved the agreement in a vote that took place online from February 26 to 29. The union has 760 members.
The crux of the matter is, as always, salary. The agreement provides for a salary increase of 17.4% spread over five years, with a first increase of 6% in 2023, as well as an increase of 1% according to the consumer price index for the last three years of the collective agreement or even a salary increase and bonuses for psychologists.
The employee vacation system is also revised by this agreement in principle to increase the number of vacation days based on seniority.
Group insurance, distribution of hours and leave are also important elements of the agreement that was reached.
The collective agreement for CEGEP professionals expired on March 31.
The negotiations were arduous and on February 24, Guillaume Bouvette, president of the SPGQ, announced that the union was requesting the intervention of a conciliator, denouncing in an interview with The Canadian Press that “nothing is moving” after 51 meetings. The union confesses to having felt somewhat aggrieved in relation to the Common Front, whose negotiations delayed theirs.
A week later, fortunately, things finally changed. But even if it is a good step forward, Martin Trudel, third vice-president of the SPGQ, moderates the enthusiasm: “It is not an agreement considered perfect. »
Remaining sticking points
One of the big remaining sticking points is the health insurance plan, “because we practically have one of the worst health insurance plans,” says Mr. Trudel, “because, among other things, the fact that the employer doesn’t contribute much. »
“There, we have an employer contribution of around a hundred dollars. These are fixed amounts, but we have had big increases recently and the employer contributes almost nothing to these increases. […] It is those who are insurance policyholders who will absorb the increases. »
The union’s request was to split the cost by percentage 50-50. The agreement finally provides for an additional contribution of $150 in the case of a single person and $300 in the case of a person with dependents. “It is difficult to understand why the employer contributes so little to the health insurance plan,” laments the trade unionist.
And to add that the researchers of the college centers for technology transfer (CCTT) of the Cégep de Trois-Rivières, integrated into the collective agreement of CEGEP employees last July, saw the level of their collective insurance drop at that time. – there, since before their inclusion, the employer covered it 100%. It was therefore no surprise that they announced that they would vote en bloc against the offer, despite insufficient numbers to have a significant impact on the result.
“In terms of salary scales too, the researchers who joined recently had better salaries,” Martin Trudel then emphasizes. So they will find themselves falling off scale. »
The salary aspect actually feels like a half-victory for SPGQ. They are revised upwards with this agreement, but the increase of 17.4% “barely” fills a gap linked to inflation, summarizes Mr. Trudel.
“With these increases, we are even limited to covering inflation. We are not really catching up compared to recent years or to those who have had increases elsewhere around. […| »
En revanche, le syndicat inscrit dans la colonne des gains une meilleure reconnaissance de la scolarité et des diplômes avancés.
Les grandes lignes de la nouvelle convention ont été tracées, cependant la rédaction en détail de chacun des points promet encore d’âpres négociations.
« Une fois que les votes sont passés, il y a des ajustements au niveau des textes. Quand on vient après ça avec des textes concrets, parfois, ce n’est pas exactement l’interprétation de ce qui s’est dit à la table entre les deux parties. »
La nouvelle convention couvrira les employés des cégeps pour les cinq prochaines années, jusqu’au 31 mars 2028.
Le Conseil du trésor, représentant du gouvernement du Québec dans les négociations des conventions collectives n’a pas répondu à nos sollicitations.