The Premier of Quebec, François Legault, is “very proud” of the new collective agreements in education. But they will have a cost. “We find ourselves with a budget which is largely in deficit, much more in deficit than it was before these negotiations,” he warned on Sunday.
The extent of the deficit will be revealed when the next budget is tabled next month.
“We made the choice to significantly improve the working conditions of teachers and school staff, but, and here I want to address all Quebecers, this choice that we made to invest massively in services public will have financial consequences,” continued Mr. Legault at a press briefing.
He was accompanied by the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, and the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, who presented the content of the agreements in principle concluded in education.
“We have chosen to make a big push to improve the working conditions of staff in the education network,” the Prime Minister immediately said.
He particularly welcomed the creation of 5,000 permanent positions in schools and the addition of 4,000 classroom assistants throughout the preschool and primary network in order to support teachers.
At the end of the agreement, a teacher’s salary will start at $65,000 per year and reach $109,000 per year at the last salary step, which represents increases between 18.6% and 27%.
However, if the new collective agreements should improve the retention and recruitment of staff, they also have a cost, recognized Mr. Legault.
“As Prime Minister of Quebec, I accept this choice. I think this is the choice to make. “It’s a responsible choice,” he argued, adding that “there is no question of cutting any service whatsoever” or increasing taxes.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
This could, however, result in a postponement of the budget balance, as the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, recently warned.
In recent weeks, several unions have adopted agreements in principle, including the Autonomous Teaching Federation (FAE).
Of its nine affiliated unions, four rejected the agreement, which came after nearly a month of strike. Its president, Mélanie Hubert, even felt that she had not had “the understanding that the teachers deserve”.
Although he said he was “optimistic” about the results of these negotiations, Bernard Drainville acknowledged that there persisted a feeling of dissatisfaction among teachers and that certain expectations were perhaps “out of reach”.
“I think that over time, there is some of this dissatisfaction that will be resolved,” he said. Let’s give this convention a chance to materialize in the daily lives of teachers and school staff. »
He gave as an example the teacher assignment process which will be brought forward to the beginning of August rather than at the start of the school year.
However, teachers and parents will have to be patient: the new agreements will not work miracles.
“Are we going to be able to fill all the positions? The answer is no, for the simple reason that we lack teachers,” admitted the Minister of Education.
Last week, the members of the Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE-CSQ) and its English-speaking counterpart, the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (APEQ), endorsed by 59.5% the proposal to sectoral regulation.
As for the Interprofessional Health Federation of Quebec (FIQ), it is “still very far” from an agreement with Quebec, two months after the arrival of a conciliator at the negotiating table.
The union, which represents some 85,000 workers, opposes the idea of forcing nurses to change establishments or care units to compensate for staff shortages.
“An agreement is the meeting of two wills. It takes will on both sides. We have demonstrated that we are capable of getting along,” commented Sonia LeBel.
The main measures negotiated in education
Offer more help for teachers and students, among other things, by:
- Adding 4,000 classroom aids to over 14,000 classes.
- Help from retired teachers to support and mentor young faculty members.
- The possibility for trainees to do substitute work.
- The addition of full-time specialized workers at the secondary level.
- The establishment of a new mechanism for class composition to better support teachers dealing with students in difficulty. In a context of labor shortage where it is difficult to increase the number of resources or reduce the ratios of students in classes, this will make it possible to deploy, if possible, additional resources as needed.
Ensure greater stability in schools, in particular, by:
- Moving forward the assignment process to August 8. In this way, teachers, students and parents will experience less uncertainty since classes will be assigned from the beginning of August.
- Significantly improving the employment status of some teaching staff by adding 5,000 permanent positions.
Grant more autonomy to teachers, for example, by:
- Allowing them to carry out their personal task (five hours per week) at their home or wherever they prefer.
- Giving them the opportunity to complete five of the twenty educational days remotely.
- Freeing them from recess supervision to allow them to focus more on supporting students.
- Granting them the possibility of working overtime (with financial incentive) on a voluntary basis to lend a hand and encourage the care of a larger number of groups.
- Allowing more flexible hours (evenings and weekends) for professional training courses, on a voluntary basis.
Source: Office of the Prime Minister