The Legault government finally reached an agreement in principle with the largest teachers’ union on Friday. Its members are called upon to ratify it after the holidays at a time when their colleagues from the Autonomous Education Federation, on strike, are still awaiting the results of a negotiating blitz.
Delegates from the Federation of Education Unions (FSE-CSQ), which represents 60% of teachers and which is part of the Common Front, were summoned Friday afternoon to Quebec.
They then ratified the draft regulation that had been presented to them, the result of a negotiation blitz launched the day before which continued until late at night, Friday morning.
“When we look at our three main priorities – the composition of the class, the reduction of workload, the remuneration – the steps we have taken allow us to think that we have achieved our objectives even if we will not be able to resolve all the problems of the education system through negotiation, because it is broader than that, the problems we have in education,” said the president of the FSE-CSQ, Josée Scalabrini, in a video on Facebook at the end of the evening.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
The president of the Federation of Education Unions, Josée Scalabrini
Next step: the approximately 95,000 teacher members of the union will be called upon to speak out during local general assemblies on dates which have not yet been specified on Friday evening, but which will lead to “after the Holidays”, still according to Mme Scalabrini.
Assignments in August, class help, office hours
The details of the agreement in principle, which mainly concerns working conditions, were not immediately revealed by the FSE-CSQ. But according to our information, it provides in particular that the assignment of classes to teachers will now be done at the beginning of August, while the government wanted this to be done earlier in the summer.
An early entry into office of some 4,000 classroom assistants promised by the Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, is also planned, as is the opening of a large number of permanent positions for teachers who do not have full charge.
The agreement in principle also concerns the approximately 8,000 teachers in Quebec’s English school boards represented by the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (APEQ-QPAT).
The government did not wish to comment on the matter Friday evening.
And the Common Front strike?
The adoption of this agreement in principle would seal most of the new employment contracts for all teachers.
The FAE could modify certain secondary elements with its own agreement; this is what happened during the previous round of talks, when the FAE, under the leadership of Sylvain Mallette, was the first to reach an agreement with the government and the FSE-CSQ had concluded its own agreement subsequently.
It is true that a sectoral agreement would mainly concern working conditions. But it would also affect the salary: it is certain that the salary scale will be revised upwards.
To this improvement will be added the salary increase that all state employees will obtain following a possible agreement at the central table, where the Common Front (CSN, FTQ, CSQ and APTS) and the government are still negotiating.
“Everything related to salary, insurance, parental leave, regional disparity, this has not been resolved, and we will have to wait to have these results as a Common Front,” recalled the president of the FSE- CSQ, Josée Scalabrini, still in her video published Friday evening.
In a press release, the union had earlier reiterated that “salary issues should be resolved” at the central table “in order to avoid an unlimited general strike by the Common Front at the start of 2024”.
Blitz for the FAE
For the moment, there is no proposed settlement with the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE), which is not part of the Common Front.
After initially refusing the government’s offer to undertake a blitz of negotiations as the FSE-CSQ did, the union which represents some 66,500 teachers reversed its position early Friday afternoon.
« [Jeudi]the management side invited us to a blitz, but in the discussion, we understood that they were still seeking to restrict the subjects that would be at stake for the negotiation,” explained the president of the FAE, Mélanie Hubert, in a video message broadcast shortly before noon on the organization’s Facebook page.
“So, our federal negotiating council told us that we want to speed up the pace and go for a blitz to reach an agreement, but not on the conditions imposed. We did 22 days of GGI [grève générale illimitée], and it is certainly not to let us dictate our behavior. »
The president added that the negotiating committee will be available to negotiate throughout the holiday period “if necessary”, but that there will be no “cut-out” agreement.
In the meantime, the FAE intends to “evaluate the impact” of the settlement proposal concluded with the FSE-CSQ “on its own negotiations”.
“But that doesn’t change anything about our objectives and the demands we made,” said Mélanie. Hubert. Our demands are fair, and for the moment, the management side still does not recognize the needs of adult education. She seeks to impose her vision on us despite all the concessions we have been able to make, particularly on assignments as of June 30 and the creation of new permanent positions. »
At the end of the day, Friday, the FAE published a message on its Facebook page inviting its members who wish to “continue to show their colors during the holiday break”. However, the message was ultimately removed after a large number of comments where people attacked the union’s strategy.
” Frankly ! You have some nerve to ask us to continue showing off! Go negotiate an agreement by tomorrow or Sunday instead of telling us that you are available to negotiate during the holiday season! », wrote, for example, Élaine Fontaine.
A different strategy
The two teachers’ unions adopted a different pressure tactics strategy. The FSE-CSQ — like the other Common Front organizations — opted for strike days first, with the possibility of triggering an unlimited general strike if necessary. She was off work for 11 days, spread over three sequences (one day, three days, then seven).
As for the FAE, it has given itself a mandate for an unlimited general strike. It was his Montreal union, the Alliance of Professors of Montreal, which, on May 16, paved the way by first adopting a mandate for an indefinite general strike (GGI). This was not a proposal submitted by FAE management. The vote took place at the St-Denis Theater, where some 600 of the 9,500 members gathered in an assembly. Support for the GGI was 98.2%. The other regional unions of the FAE then followed suit.
Hundreds of comments
Mélanie Hubert’s video published earlier had also generated hundreds of comments, most of them positive and encouraging, but several of which also expressed the desire to put an end to this strike.
“Maybe we should wake up at some point!!! The FSE will have settled and we will still be in GGI!!! Let’s see whose [sic] It’s time for this strike to end and for the FAE to put water in its wine!!! », wrote Sonia Vézina.
“A blitz. An agreement in principle. END. Enough is enough, I no longer have the financial and psychological means to continue your strike which was never mine. It’s embarrassing in the end! », Commented Josée Lusignan.
With Suzanne Colpron, The Press
And the others ?
This agreement in principle between the government and the FSE-CSQ took place at the so-called “sectoral” table of teachers, where the majority of working conditions specific to their profession are negotiated, for example the ratios of students in classes. But the FSE-CSQ is one of the union organizations members of the Common Front which negotiates for them at the so-called “central” table the main matters which affect the majority of collective agreements in the health and social services and education sectors. , including salary, pension plan and parental rights. However, the Common Front negotiations continue at the central table, just like the negotiations of the other Common Front member organizations at their respective sectoral tables.
Precision :
A previous version of this text indicated that 600 of the 95,000 members of the Alliance of Professors of Montreal had participated in a vote. However, there are 9,500 members. Our apologies.