After having obtained substantial salary increases during their last round of negotiations, the 60,000 teachers represented by the Independent Federation of Education (FAE) are demanding new increases to reach the Canadian average.
“We may be accused of being greedy, but the shortage at the moment is such that we have to make the conditions interesting, says the president, Mélanie Hubert. We have to be able to offer everyone a salary that will allow us to pay for our groceries and our homes. There is a lot of talk about inflation and interest rates that keep going up”.
Teachers from the federation gathered in Quebec City on Thursday morning in support of their bargaining committee, which filed their demands for the renewal of their collective agreement, which expires on March 31 next year.
Teachers approved an agreement last year giving them salary increases of almost 15% at the start of their career and almost 18% at the top of the scale. Still, according to FAE figures, a teacher starting out in the province earns $53,541 a year, while the Canadian average is $58,443. At the end of their career, a Quebec teacher has an annual salary of $92,027, compared to an average of $95,281 in Canada.
The teachers’ union is also asking for an increase of 4% per year for the duration of the agreement, and that the increase be adjusted to the consumer price index (CPI) if it were to exceed 4%.
“Our teachers in the field tell us that, at a minimum, if we want to keep them in the profession, it takes a salary that allows them to continue to live decently, to feed their families and to maintain a minimum standard of living”, insists the president .
A reduction in the number of salary steps is also requested. “A teacher, in Quebec, it takes him 13 years to climb all the levels to reach the top. In Canada, the average is 10 years, underlines Mélanie Hubert. This will allow us to complete the work started during the last round of negotiations and to be comparable with all our compatriots in Canada”.
An improvement in working conditions is also requested, in particular by adding more leave for family reasons, for a better work-family-personal life balance.
Regarding the composition of classes, the federation asks the Minister of Education to open groups “adapted to the needs of certain categories of pupils”, for example those from immigrant backgrounds or presenting difficulties in adapting or learning. “We have bet a lot on integration into the regular class, and yes the public must welcome all students. But it is the school that is inclusive. It’s not the ordinary class that should be the answer to all the problems,” thinks Mélanie Hubert.