Children who entered first grade in September 2019 are approaching the end of their primary school career having hardly experienced any standard school years. Health measures have forced school closures, natural disasters have led to more days without classes, and now the public sector labor dispute is depriving children of learning.
“We do not have essential education services and it is a disaster for children,” argues pediatrician Gilles Julien, speaking of the serious consequences on their development. Although he considers the teachers’ strike to be “well justified”, the social pediatrician still calls for serious reflection on the addition of school to the list of essential services. He says he fears demotivation among children and long-term consequences that could ultimately lead to dropouts that could have been avoided.
Furthermore, it is undeniable that such an argument calls into question teachers’ right to strike. However, notwithstanding the fact that hospitals are considered an essential service, unionized staff benefit from the right to strike. In this vein, I would very well see teachers benefiting from rotating sectoral strikes of two or three days and, thus, greatly mitigating the collateral effects of occasional teacher absenteeism which could be filled by a substitute.
According to pediatrician Gilles Julien, the closure of schools has significant consequences on the health of young people. Consequently, he demands that school be recognized as an essential service which, by definition, must meet the essential requirements of collective life and human dignity and serve the general interest.
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