(Montreal) It is the turn of the Federation of Health and Social Services to denounce “an untenable situation” for workers in childcare services, while the collective agreements have expired a year ago, these days, and that negotiations have not really started yet with Quebec.
Before the FSSS, which is affiliated with the CSN, unions from the CSQ and the FTQ had denounced the same slowness in initiating these negotiations for the renewal of collective agreements in childcare services.
However, these agreements expired on March 31, 2023, at the same time as those of the public sector. And according to the CSQ, the CSN and the FTQ, the negotiations have not really started and Quebec has not yet submitted its offers.
Several thousand workers in childcare services are affected, in Early Childhood Centers (CPE) and in family daycare services – in the case of the CSQ, which negotiates for both groups at the same time.
Unusually, the FSSS requested conciliation even before Quebec’s offer was submitted. She had a first conciliation meeting on March 20, but the employer associations were not present at the table, reported Tuesday Stéphanie Vachon, representative of the CPE sector at the FSSS.
“We discussed the constitution of the national table as such. »
This is where the problem lies, according to her. The employers’ table is made up of three parts: the Treasury Board, the Ministry of Family and employer associations. However, these employers must first sign regional protocols to truly launch national negotiations. And this is not done in all regions.
“It’s a situation that has become untenable for everyone, as much for the union – our center – as for the other centers, and even the non-unionized workers who, we know, will ultimately benefit from the progress we are going to make. to do,” said Mme Vachon.
After the first outing of the Federation of Early Childhood Workers (FIPEQ), affiliated with the CSQ, the president of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, affirmed that she wanted to wait until the three union organizations had submitted their requests before filing its offers.
However, the three assure that they have been ready to submit their requests for several months, but that it is the employer party that is not ready.
And the three affirm that Quebec could have at least initiated discussions on the normative clauses with each of them, while waiting to submit its salary offer to the whole.
Impatience is therefore growing within the three union organizations.
FIPEQ, affiliated with the CSQ, has already warned that if the government does not submit its offers by the end of April, it will therefore request mandates for heavier pressure tactics, which could go as far as a strike. from its members in the CPE.
Members of the FSSS, affiliated with the CSN, have been wearing a scarf since Tuesday, to mark the one-year deadline since the expiry of collective agreements. But the FSSS is not yet considering heavy pressure tactics, “not for the moment”, specifies M.me Vachon.