The three central unions involved in the labor dispute in the childcare centers, as well as the three opposition parties and groups of parents and non-unionized workers, demand greater recognition from all childcare workers.
“With what we have on the table, we really need an intervention, something fast,” said the representative of the FSSS-CSN, Stéphanie Vachon, at a press conference in Montreal.
The bone of contention concerns the salaries of support staff, particularly in administration, kitchens or maintenance, whom unions consider “underpaid compared to their colleagues” in the school and health networks. , as pointed out by the president of the FIPEQ-CSQ, Valérie Grenon.
“We need to recognize all types of jobs. We must preserve the immense wealth of childcare centers that we have in Quebec, ”said Sylvie Nelson, vice-president of the Federation of Workers of Quebec (FTQ).
According to the Quebec offer, educators would receive $ 21.38 to $ 28.31 per hour at the 10e echelon. The government proposes to add two more steps to the scale, which currently has 10, to bring the hourly wage to $ 30.03 at 12e echelon.
For the other workers, the FIPEQ affirms that the support employees of the childcare centers are behind by 20 to 35% compared to their peers in the public sector, depending on the job title.
These workers are “very far from the $ 30 an hour”, argued Mr.me Vachon. “Recognize that we have different workers in our communities who also require remedial work,” she asked Prime Minister François Legault.
Negotiate days and nights
Mme Grenon, for his part, pleaded that “it is possible for the government and for the staff in childcare centers to come out of this conflict with their heads held high”.
For now, only workers affiliated with the CSN are on an indefinite general strike, but they could be followed by their sisters from other unions if no agreement is reached before Thursday.
“We are ready to negotiate days, evenings and nights […], what we want is a regulation, ”added FTQ vice-president Sylvie Nelson. There remains the government, according to her, “a little turn of the wheel to do” to appease the unions.
The President of the Treasury Board, Sonia Lebel, said Friday to have “joined the objectives and priorities” of the unions by having improved its offer.
Opposition parties speak out
“There is currently a crisis in child care spaces. First and foremost, educators and workers are essential workers. In this sense, François Legault makes […] all against the enhancement of the profession ”, declared Marc Tanguay, Liberal Party spokesperson in family matters.
Manon Massé, co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire, then asked François Legault to get involved. “You promised that every child would have a place in child care. You promised you were going to complete that network, but with what’s on the table right now, you are breaking that promise. ”
The workers are fighting for “the future of our educational childcare services and the future of our childcare centers,” added Véronique Hivon, the Parti Québécois spokesperson on family matters. This is the future of work-family reconciliation, it is the fight for the presence of women in the labor market. It is the development of Quebec as a whole that is at stake, because without female strength in the labor market and quality services, we will collectively decline. ”