Unions representing employees in health and education are calling for the implementation of a national francization program for these workers, judging that French should be more present in these networks.
Proposals to this effect will be submitted to the 1,200 delegates who will take part in the 33rd convention of the FTQ, which will take place next week in Montreal.
Local sections of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and the Union of Professional and Office Employees (SEPB) — two large unions affiliated with the FTQ — have submitted such proposals concerning the francization of these workers.
They are asking the FTQ to work with the government to set up a national francization program for these workers, which would be offered to them while being paid.
“French must be omnipresent in health and social services so that workers can ensure their health and safety, while being equipped to communicate optimally and adequately with their colleagues” and with the population, perhaps we read in one of these proposals.
In interview with The Canadian Pressthe president of the FTQ, Daniel Boyer, attributed this phenomenon of the lack of knowledge of French, even in the public networks, to the scarcity of labor and the pandemic.
“It shows the workforce that we needed to hire quickly during the pandemic and it shows the problems of attracting and retaining the workforce. So there are a number of immigrants that we have now hired—and that’s absolutely correct—and these are people who, many times, don’t have a good command of the French language,” explained Mr. Boyer.
It is therefore necessary “to allow them to master French sufficiently and to put in place the tools to allow them to master it”, he pleaded.
Posts with charging stations?
Among other proposals to be submitted to the 1,200 delegates, the Canadian Union of Postal Workers suggests expanding Canada Post’s mission to make it a “community hub” that would offer public services such as Internet access and charging stations. for electric vehicles.
In addition, the union proposes that Canada Post set up a “national vigilance service for the elderly, vulnerable or with reduced mobility”.
Why have we come to ask the Post Office to provide such services? “Because there are public services that are not rendered,” replied Daniel Boyer.
“If we had an impeccable high-speed Internet service in Quebec, accessible to everyone, we would not have these kinds of resolutions” to debate at the FTQ convention, he argues.
As for the fate of the elderly, vulnerable and with reduced mobility, “if we had a health network that provided the services it is supposed to provide, we would not have this bit of resolution,” he said. -he adds.
The 206-page resolutions book contains several other proposals on topics as broad as the minimum wage, telecommuting, school violence, the labor shortage and the retirement age.