(Montreal) Lecturers at Laval University in Quebec are threatening to hold a four-day strike starting Thursday if no agreement is reached by then regarding the renewal of their collective agreement.
The union has a 10-day strike mandate to be exercised at the appropriate time. If applicable, these would be the first four days of strike during this mandate.
Intensive negotiations are taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the help of a conciliator, with the aim of avoiding a walkout, the president of the Union of Lecturers, Louis Émond, said in an interview.
“We have two days to negotiate. We are in a moment of balance of power. We have all presented our rational arguments,” said Mr. Émond.
Is it realistic to think about settling between now and the start of the strike, when the agreement expired in December 2022? “We have hope, but… Hope gives life,” said Mr. Émond.
Asked to do so, the university management had still not commented at the time of writing.
Negotiations are now stalling on salaries. These lecturers demand remuneration comparable to that offered in other universities in Quebec and which takes into account inflation. Mr. Émond cites for example the cases of the University of Quebec at Trois-Rivières, which has a campus in Quebec, and the University of Quebec at Rimouski, which has a campus in Lévis.
The normative clauses are practically settled, since accelerated negotiations since mid-January have made it possible to make progress in this area.
The 1,700-member union is attached to the National Federation of Teachers of Quebec, which is affiliated with the CSN.
Last year, it was the professors at Laval University who walked off the job, in February and March, before reaching an agreement with the university management.