One of the most glaring demands of teachers regarding the negotiations of their collective agreement was undoubtedly the heaviness of their task. However, in this vein, the government has committed the sum of $300 million in bonuses to teachers who would agree, on a voluntary basis, to offer recovery sessions to students who, through their many missed school days, have accumulated considerable delays during the teachers’ strike days. However, until now, in certain schools, no teacher has volunteered to offer support, according to an internal survey carried out by the Fédération québécoise des directions d’establishment d’enseignement.
Notwithstanding the fact that some teachers wish to give an extra helping hand to their students in the face of the prospect of earning a surplus salary, after weeks of strike without pay, others consider that participating in this additional effort would be totally inconsistent with the demands expressed during the strike, since the teachers’ workload was relentlessly denounced on the picket lines.
Logically, it is clear that the latter’s argument is difficult to contest insofar as the additional salary will in no way contribute to alleviating the burden of the task so much criticized by teachers in the public arena in addition to be strongly supported by the vast majority of parents.
In short, I am of the opinion that we are surrounded by complete inconsistency in Minister Drainville’s plan. If the government’s intention was to buy peace by acting as a “generous provider”, I am rather inclined to think that it used the shortest route… and the least effective for teachers already overloaded by the heaviness of their task.
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