(Montreal) A strike will indeed take place in several childcare centers in Quebec as of Monday, the intensive negotiations that had been taking place for a few days with the main labor organizations having been broken up on Friday evening.
In the early childhood centers where the union is attached to the Federation of Health and Social Services, affiliated with the CSN, the walkout will take place Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, next week.
In the CPEs where the union is attached to the Federation of Early Childhood Workers, affiliated to the CSQ, the strike will take place Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
The two trade union federations are even considering seeking an indefinite general strike mandate from their members.
However, still late Friday afternoon, the two unions thought they could continue their negotiations at the end of the week with the Treasury Board. But in the early evening on Friday, intensive negotiations collapsed.
And no other negotiation date has been set between the parties, FIPEQ said.
As for the Quebec Service Employees Union (SQEES), affiliated with the FTQ, its strike is scheduled for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
The litigation
The dispute mainly concerns the salary, not only that of the educators, but also that of the other workers in the early childhood centers. These are specialized educators, administrative, kitchen and maintenance workers.
However, the government of Quebec wants to give priority to educators, by offering them larger increases, since there is a shortage of educators and they are underpaid, by its own admission. But the unions want him to also make an effort for their “other” members in the CPEs.
Support for children with special needs is also an issue in this negotiation.
Similarly, Quebec wants to encourage educators to adopt the 40-hour week over five days, rather than 32 to 36 hours, as is often the case today. To achieve this, it offers a flat fee of $ 50 per week.