Common Front activists planned to gather at dawn Monday to denounce the Legault government’s decision to cut bonuses while tense negotiations continue between Quebec and unions representing thousands of public sector workers.
A group of Common Front activists were to demonstrate in front of the Treasury Board offices in Quebec City on Monday from 7 a.m., according to a press release from the Common Front, which brings together the unions of the CSN, the CSQ, the FTQ and the APTS representing more than 420,000 Quebec government workers in the public sectors, education, health and social services as well as higher education.
The Common Front has been demanding for more than a year that several bonuses and measures be maintained for the duration of negotiations, but the provincial government announced earlier that certain bonuses affecting public sector workers would end on September 30.
A negotiation session should take place Monday morning and the Common Front “wishes to increase pressure so that the government agrees on the need to extend these bonuses”. He maintains that these bonuses represent thousands of dollars annually for workers.
“Seeing them use our bonuses as negotiating leverage is simply unacceptable,” says the Common Front press release.
The unions are demanding improvements in working conditions, salary catch-up and protection against inflation. “We’ve had enough of the government’s arrogance, enough of the stupidity. After the major national demonstration at the end of the week, votes in general assemblies continue. If the government was looking for another good idea to fuel the discontent of workers, here is one,” reports the Common Front in its press release.
On Saturday, thousands of people marched through the streets of Montreal during the demonstration organized by the Public Sector Inter-Union Common Front.
Before the march, the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, said she was ready to continue discussions, but felt that “we absolutely must organize the work in our schools and our hospitals in a more efficient way.”