Like the artists participating in the Culture at School program who are denouncing payment delays, other contract workers in Quebec primary schools say they are experiencing the same reality.
This is the case, for example, of the zootherapist Audrey Desrosiers, who is in her 16th yeare back to school.
“I received a check last week for an intervention dating back to April. That gives you an idea of what we’re going through,” she said..
“For 15 years, schools have been taking three, four or five months to pay us! Who can live without a salary for months? It’s crazy, it’s a service we’ve already provided!”
Audrey Desrosiers says that over time, she has seen many colleagues leave the ship because they were not paid on time by the schools.
“We don’t have enough equity to ensure turnover, like the biggest contractors of school service centers. Late payments are one of the reasons why animal therapists end up giving up.”
Language science expert Stéphany Laflèche says the delays have forced her to review the business model of her company, La Boîte à paroles, which supports children with language issues. It now offers individual services, paid for directly by parents. So no more interventions in schools.
“It had become unbearable, I was unable to pay my employees,” she explains. She now says she has to decline regular requests from schools or daycare centers.
Through its executive director, Kassandra Durand-Lafleur, the Quebec Association of Speech Therapists and Audiologists confirms the payment delays sometimes experienced by some of its members who work in schools. However, it cannot confirm that this is a general trend.
“It does happen that the accounting departments of certain establishments require reminders for payment of services rendered, which can sometimes take several weeks. We do not have sufficient data to confirm whether this is a general trend,” says Mr.me Durand-Lafleur.