The Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) continues its strike and asks Quebec to “take the negotiations seriously”, but also to clarify what it expects at the negotiating tables.
The last weekend of negotiations was “difficult and disappointing,” laments the union, whose 66,000 teachers have been on an indefinite general strike since November 23.
“The next few days will be decisive for us to reach a satisfactory agreement before the holidays,” declared Mélanie Hubert, president of the FAE, at a press briefing in Montreal on Monday.
The union says it has done “to [son] corps defendant” a concession on teacher assignments, a request from the Legault government. The counter-offer submitted last Wednesday by the FAE proposed “a mechanism” so that “the greatest number of positions” would be affected in June, said Mélanie Hubert.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, THE PRESS
Melanie Hubert
“We hoped that it would unblock things,” she continued. The government reportedly responded by asking the union for further concessions.
The “key” to the negotiation is now “the composition of the class”, says the president of the FAE. This is a “major issue” which “alone is worth a good part of the negotiation”.
“What we wanted was for it to have a very concrete effect: if there are too many students who have difficulties in a class, we could go as far as creating classes to try to better distribute the needs of students. All of this is still at the stage of wishful thinking,” says Mélanie Hubert, who wants “concrete changes,”
“We are not here to make trouble, we are here to resolve it,” added M.me Hubert, in reference to the words of Prime Minister François Legault, who declared last week that “it risks brewing in the coming weeks” in the coming weeks at the negotiating tables.
On Thursday, Prime Minister Legault said he was ready to improve his new offer of salary increases of 12.7% in five years, presented on Wednesday.