(Quebec) The two teaching unions are studying a new sectoral offer made to them by the Legault government Tuesday afternoon. “We are putting a lot of things on the table” with this proposal which contains “really important improvements”, maintains the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville.
Quebec made this “important formal deposit”, to use its expression, in the hope of concluding agreements with the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE) and the Federation of Education Unions (FSE-CSQ). He thus wishes to put an end to the indefinite general strike of the FAE in progress since November 23 and prevent the FSE-CSQ from following suit in January. The FSE-CSQ has held 11 days of walkout so far, like the other common front unions.
“We hope that these new offers will ultimately allow us to obtain an agreement, but we must first let the unions become aware of these offers,” declared Bernard Drainville during a press scrum on the sidelines. from an ad in Bellechasse. He did not want to give details of the government’s proposal.
The two teaching unions had not commented on the employer’s offer at the time of posting this text online. This offer is called sectoral because it concerns working conditions.
The Minister of Education says he is “confident” of settling with teachers before Christmas. “We hope that we will reach an agreement in the coming days, if not in the coming weeks,” he said.
As for a possible change to the school calendar, the minister acknowledged that there will be “catching up to do” for many students who, until now, have missed more than 20 days of school.
“We have not yet made final decisions on the school calendar,” declared the minister. “Everything is on the table,” he added.
Tuesday morning, Quebec announced a postponement of the ministerial exams which were scheduled for January. These were mainly repeat exams which affected a minority of students. The date of their postponement has not been set.
During a meeting of their respective bodies, the common front organizations (CSN, FTQ, CSQ and APTS) took stock of the negotiations on Tuesday. Talks with the government are progressing, but not at a satisfactory pace, we summarize.
Everything indicates that the common front has chosen not to set immediately the date for the start of an indefinite general strike in January. According to a proposal submitted to delegates, he instead wants to give negotiations every chance to reach a settlement by the end of the year.
Union leaders would have free rein after the holidays to call a strike at the appropriate time if there is no agreement with the government by then, according to the proposal. They will hold a press conference Wednesday morning in Quebec.
For its part, the Interprofessional Health Federation (FIQ) asked the Minister of Labor, Jean Boulet, to appoint a conciliator “in view of the too slow progress in the discussions”. Mr. Boulet made the appointment quickly. Note that conciliators have been at work at other tables for a while.
According to the president of the FIQ, Julie Bouchard, “the government is focused on its positions and refuses to make compromises.” Despite more than 75 negotiation sessions, “there are still very important differences between us and the government,” she adds. “On fundamental issues, such as management of overtime, ratios and compensation for inconveniences, we are still very far apart. »
The Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, commented on the appointment of a conciliator by saying that the government wants to “advance the discussions positively in order to facilitate reaching an agreement quickly.”
However, last week, Prime Minister François Legault said that talks are “very, very difficult” with health workers’ unions and that the prospect of an agreement is fading. “There is almost no openness to give us the flexibility that is absolutely necessary to improve health services. So, from that side, I think things will be better in January,” he said.
With Gabriel Béland