At a time when an indefinite general strike begins in the education sector and negotiations continue to improve the conditions of workers in the health network, grandparents are called to the rescue to take care of the little ones. -children whose daily lives are turned upside down. Several retired civil servants also hope that this strike will help counteract the deterioration of working conditions in the health and education sectors, which they consider worrying.
“I’m used to taking care of small children, so when a strike happens, we’re ready to help,” says Françoise Aubertin in an interview. The retired teacher experienced the strike movement that began in 1982, at the time when the government of René Lévesque announced that it would reduce the salaries of state employees by almost 20% for the first three months of 1983 due to the difficult economic context. However, despite the efforts of the union movement, the working conditions of teachers have deteriorated in recent decades, notes with regret Mme Aubertin.
“I look at the working conditions of teachers and I think I left on time,” notes M.me Aubertin, who retired in 2002. “I saw colleagues tell me how things got worse from year to year,” continues the grandmother, who says she is “totally for” the general strike unlimited started Thursday by the Autonomous Federation of Education. This occurs on the sidelines of three days of strike, from November 21 to 23, led by the Inter-union Common Front, which brings together 420,000 employees mainly in the health and education sectors. “Something needs to happen in society to improve the working conditions of teachers,” believes Ms.me Aubertin.
“I hope that the teachers and nurses will go all the way,” also notes Michèle Lacerte, who on Tuesday took care of her 6-year-old granddaughter as well as two neighbors’ children while they were at work. The lady considered it important to take part in her own way in the mobilization taking place to improve the working conditions of unionized public service employees. “It was Boucar Diouf who said that it takes a village to raise a child. It’s with this in mind that I looked after my neighbors’ two children,” says the retired nurse, who lives in the village of Saint-Sévère, in Mauricie.
Françoise Aubertin, who lives in Saint-Léonard, is delighted to be able to spend more time with some of her four grandchildren. She also increased the activities on Tuesday with her youngest, aged 8 years old. “This morning, we did reading, writing, crafts, we prepared a beautiful bed for the Barbie, and the day is not over,” says a smile in the voice of Françoise Aubertin, joined in late Tuesday afternoon. “I was lucky in my life to have had a mother-in-law who took care of my children when I had to stay late at school. Now it’s my turn,” she continues.
Apprehensions
However, some grandparents fear that this strike will drag on over time, as caring for grandchildren is not easy. “If it lasted two or three weeks, it would still become quite heavy,” says Louise Fortin, who fears possibly running out of energy to keep her two grandsons, aged 7 and 10, occupied. “You have to animate them almost continuously. They are currently drawing. This morning we played hockey outside. We also did a little school work because they had some. And I played baby foot today,” says the resident of the Rosemont neighborhood with a laugh, who is also planning to bring her grandsons to the Montreal Book Fair in the coming days, just to keep them busy a little.
“Even though my partner and I are very fit, we are not getting any younger. In the evening, we are very tired,” Michèle Lacerte also agrees, who nevertheless believes that this strike is worth it, if it can ultimately contribute to improving the working conditions of teachers and nurses in Quebec.
“I find that a strike movement to obtain our demands is perhaps outdated. We do not hold children or the sick hostage in an education or public health network. I find it a shame that this is happening,” says retired doctor Alain Martel. According to him, this strike could have been avoided if the government had acted in advance to improve working conditions in the education and health sectors, which are suffering, according to him, from the aging of the population. “I find it deplorable that we have reached this point. »