On the first day of a week of walkouts, the Union Common Front issues an ultimatum to the government: settle or union members will have to consider an unlimited general strike in January.
The FTQ, CSN, CSQ and APTS began a week of strike Friday morning.
At the end of this, the Common Front hopes to be able to present an agreement in principle to its members.
“Otherwise, we will be obliged to report to our respective assemblies to see how we see the future, and we see no other solution than to launch an unlimited general strike,” declared Robert Comeau, president of the APTS, during a press briefing a stone’s throw from parliament on Friday morning.
Marcel Tremblay / QMI Agency
In the meantime, the four unions continue to negotiate. A meeting is planned this afternoon with the management party at the central table.
The Common Front revealed that it had submitted a counter-offer to the government yesterday, after having rejected the government’s proposal the day before.
“Unfortunately, the people who were in front of us were unable to respond directly to this offer,” declared Mr. Comeau.
Union leaders, however, offered little information on the content of their counter-offer, other than an openness to agreeing over five years, as Quebec is demanding, rather than three years, as they had previously requested. .
Waltz of negotiations
Earlier this week, the government increased its salary offer to state employees from 10.3% to 12.7% over five years.
The Common Front instead demands increases linked to inflation, in addition to a catch-up. Over five years, their demands could amount to around 23%.
The next day, faced with the refusal of the unions, Prime Minister François Legault said he was open to once again increasing the envelope on the table.
But in exchange, Quebec demands more flexibility in the application of collective agreements.
The leaders of the Common Front do not hide it, they know that they are facing a weakened government. “When Blaine Higgs is more popular than you, things are bad shop!” said the first vice-president of the CSN, François Enault, in reference to the premier of New Brunswick.
Acceleration
Questioned in the corridors of the National Assembly, the President of the Treasury Council assured that the talks are intensifying.
“We are necessarily, I would say, in a moment which is crucial because everyone seems to be in agreement, including the Common Front, to be able to reach an agreement by the end of the year, said Sonia LeBel […] I wouldn’t dare call it a blitz, but I would say that I think that the intensifications are present, given the desire displayed on both sides to reach agreements more quickly.
In parallel, Mme LeBel published on the X platform some examples of the salaries that employees would receive based on Quebec’s offer.
During his end-of-session report, Prime Minister François Legault assured that he does not intend to invoke the special law to force employees to return to work. However, Mr. Legault warned that he does not intend to deviate from his desire to obtain more flexibility from the unions. “It risks stirring things up,” he declared, due to the “resistance to change” of the unions.
At the top of the scale, a clinical nurse would earn more than $147,000, she argues.