Recently, public sector employees, including members of the Independent Education Federation (FAE), received proposals from the Treasury Board in response to union demands. The result is as shocking as it is predictable: under the guise of “valuing the teaching profession” and in the name of educational success, the government of François Legault proposes to ax the working conditions of teachers, as if taking care of employees was incompatible with providing quality services to the population.
However, the teaching conditions are directly linked to the students’ learning conditions. A teacher on the edge burnout can hardly give stimulating lessons to his students, just as an overloaded class, especially with students in difficulty, does not allow teachers to teach decently and meet everyone’s needs. In short, when teachers are treated well, students learn better, develop better and succeed better.
We are entering a period of negotiations and the observation from the top of Parliament Hill is distressing: the Legault government seems to want to talk mainly about the learning conditions of students, as if the teachers were training machines (and, from time to time, to be evaluated according to criteria established by the Ministry of Education). However, the very heart of the negotiation of the collective agreement is first and foremost to agree on the working conditions of teachers for the next few years!
This way of looking at the problem upside down is perfectly illustrated in the employers’ proposals: it is thought to solve the “shortage of female teachers” by adding tasks to already overloaded days. By attacking the consequences of the shortage rather than its causes, the Legault government is sending a funny message. He does not seem to believe that it is imperative to improve the working conditions of teachers to attract more of them to the network. Worse, it suggests that we should rather squeeze the lemon out of those who stay there, even if it means weakening our schools, jeopardizing student learning, increasing the desertion of young teachers and pushing female teachers to retirement experience.
The labor shortage affects all sectors of the economy. One only has to look through the job offers to see that the solutions found by employers go in one direction: offering advantageous working conditions, above-average pay and competitive advantages (right to disconnection, bonuses and premiums, regular schedules, work-family-personal life balance, etc.) The filing of the management proposals shows that, for a party that claims to be an “enlightened left”, the basic economic principles seem out of place. ‘achievement.
The shortage, according to the indicators at our disposal, is only accelerating. Of teachers, Quebec trains thousands each year; the problem is that we can’t hold them back. In such a context, how to explain the reaction of the CAQ government? We want to tell him that we do not attract flies with vinegar, but the situation is even more serious: the Legault government seems to constrain those who remain more.
Minister Sonia LeBel urges us to make sacrifices that she believes will have immediate and noticeable effects on our school system. She repeats that we cannot wait four or six years for things to change. However, the means recommended by the government will only aggravate the problem in the short, medium and long term, by pushing even more teachers to burnout or change careers.
The current situation is the result of political, economic and organizational choices that we have been denouncing for years. Simplistic solutions implemented hastily will not be enough to reverse the trend, especially if teachers still have to pay the price.
Teachers, there are, Mr. Legault and Mme LeBel. Stop antagonizing them, and you’ll see that public school can be a positive place for students and teachers alike. Quebec society will only be better off.
Finally, happy holidays to all, especially to the teachers. Take the opportunity to rest. We will need you in 2023!