Negotiations between Quebec and the Common Front will now focus on issues such as wages, as the last union affiliated with it reached a tentative settlement last night on its working conditions.
The last union of the Quebec Federation of Workers (FTQ) reached an agreement with the Quebec government in the middle of the night from Tuesday to Wednesday. Negotiations will continue on Wednesday at the central table, particularly on the question of salaries.
This new settlement hypothesis concludes the round of negotiation of the eight sectoral tables of the FTQ, the union federation announced online Wednesday morning.
This means that all unions affiliated with the FTQ have an agreement. This was already the case with those of the CSN, the CSQ and the APTS. These four federations grouped together form the Common Front, which negotiates jointly with Quebec.
This latest agreement from the FTQ union was reached at 1:03 a.m. last night. It focused on sectoral issues relating to working conditions with the Employer Negotiating Committee of French-speaking School Service Centers.
The SPPLRN represents education professionals from 33 different job categories (nutritionists, remedial teachers, psychologists, social workers, guidance counselors, etc.). They work with 137,000 students spread across 235 schools, the Affluents, Laval and Mille-Îles school service centers.
A series of agreements before Christmas
A series of agreements at the sectoral tables of the various Common Front unions were announced on Saturday and Sunday during intensive negotiations. The talks were suspended on December 25 to allow all parties involved to celebrate Christmas.
All these hypothetical regulations will be presented to the delegates of their bodies shortly.
On December 23, the Common Front nevertheless recalled that without a satisfactory agreement by the end of the year – particularly at the central table – its 420,000 members could trigger an unlimited general strike in 2024.
Resumption of negotiations with the FAE
On the side of the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE), which brings together 66,500 teachers on an indefinite general strike since November 23, negotiations with Quebec resumed on Tuesday. This restart followed a 24-hour break in negotiations.
On December 21, FAE members unanimously voted for the proposal to enter into a negotiating blitz, but on condition of being able to discuss union proposals.
“The teachers did not go on strike for 22 days to allow the conditions of an agreement to be dictated to them,” the Federation sent a message on December 22 on the social network X.
Through a press release on December 22, the president of the central, Mélanie Hubert, indicated that “the government still refuses to hear several of the union proposals which would respond to the crying needs of teachers and their students, young and adults. The management side seeks to restrict the subjects to enter into a blitz. »
Just before Christmas, professors affiliated with the FAE blocked the port of Montreal. Last Friday, a citizen rally in support of teachers also took place in front of the offices of Prime Minister François Legault, on Sherbrooke Street, in Montreal.
With the collaboration of Tommy Chouinard and Sara Champagne, The Press