Quebec is used to seeing snowstorms close schools, but as of Tuesday, a storm of a completely different order will shake up class schedules: thousands of strikers in Quebec will go out into the street to demonstrate their dissatisfaction with the offers of the Legault government. Overview of the situation.
When will schools be closed?
Starting Tuesday, November 21, all public schools in the province will be closed for at least three days. This is because the common union front, which represents nearly 90,000 teachers and all school support staff, will be on strike.
As a result, even schools whose teachers are not represented by this union will be closed on November 21, 22 and 23. The daycare services of these schools will also be.
Will all schools reopen on Friday November 24?
No. The Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE), which represents 65,000 teachers, will launch an indefinite general strike (GGI) from November 23. Nine unions are members of this federation. They are in Montreal, Laval, Quebec, Outaouais, Montérégie, Estrie and the Laurentians.
Do we know when these schools will reopen?
This is the big unknown: how long will this strike last? School service centers, including those on the island of Montreal, announced last week that their schools will be closed “for an indefinite period.”
The strikers who are part of the Autonomous Education Federation do not have a strike fund. This means that these teachers will be without income as of Wednesday.
However, the unions point out, the members engaged in this strike with full knowledge of the facts, which shows their determination to “fight to the end”, said last week Catherine Beauvais-St-Pierre, the president of the ‘Alliance of teachers, The Press.
Is the private network affected?
Generally speaking, no, but teachers at Regina Assumpta College in Montreal are also in negotiations for the renewal of their collective agreement. They voted to hold a four-day strike on November 22, 23, 27 and 28.
What about CEGEPs and universities?
Teachers and a large majority of CEGEP employees are part of the common front, which will observe three days of strike on November 21, 22 and 23. As a result, all CEGEPs in the province will be closed. As for universities, they are not affected by this movement.