The government and the Common Front agreed Thursday on a proposed agreement in principle which will establish the salary conditions of the 420,000 public sector employees represented by the union group.
The details of the agreement reached at the central table are not known but this development constitutes a major element which paves the way for a settlement with the majority of public sector employees for the renewal of their collective agreements.
Just like the other agreements announced in recent days at the tables of the different sectors, the one that occurred at the central table on Thursday must still be approved by delegates and union members, who will have the last word at future general meetings.
Three weeks ago, the Common Front rejected the government’s proposed wage increase of 12.7% over five years. Prime Minister François Legault had already shown himself open to improving it.
In a press release, the Common Front announced that it had managed to conclude a proposal at the central table, after 11 days of strike earlier this fall.
“In terms of wages, the objectives of the Common Front were based on two key principles: protecting our 420,000 workers against inflation and obtaining a certain general catch-up in wages for all workers. And that’s what guided us throughout this negotiation blitz to reach a proposed agreement. We now wish to first present it to our respective authorities,” explained the spokespersons for the Common Front François Enault, first vice-president of the CSN, Éric Gingras, president of the CSQ, Magali Picard, president of the FTQ and Robert Comeau, president of the APTS.
Further details will follow.
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