“We did not have the understanding that the teachers deserve,” admitted Monday the president of the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE), Mélanie Hubert. The close results of the votes held in recent weeks for the adoption of the agreement in principle demonstrate the dissatisfaction that persists among union members, she said.
“It would have taken a truly extraordinary agreement to achieve unanimity,” said M.me Hubert during a press conference. She said she welcomed “with lucidity” the verdict of its members regarding the agreement in principle which was concluded at the end of December with the government of Quebec.
“The results of the votes of recent weeks show us that we are not faced with massive support for an agreement in principle that fully satisfies all of our members. » According to her, however, this is not a “bargain” agreement. “I think it was an agreement that was honest, negotiated until the last minute,” she said. “We faced an employer party who negotiated extremely tightly. But we couldn’t go as far as we would have liked. »
Asked about the criticisms — coming from parents and members — regarding the strategy of holding an indefinite general strike, which ultimately lasted 22 days, Mélanie Hubert argued that it was a “collective decision”. “It was the fruit of a long democratic process and, since it is a collective choice, I think we also had to rally behind it,” she explained. In his opinion, the idea to strike was based on “20 years of bad political decisions.”
A grueling strike
In light of the close results, does the president still have the legitimacy to represent the members? Mélanie Hubert believes yes and adds that she intends to complete her mandate, which will end in June 2025, unless she has requests to the contrary. “All the decisions we have taken since the start of these negotiations are the result of collective decisions. There is not a decision that is made when I am alone in my office to say: “This is where we are going, and everyone will just have to rally around.” That’s not how it works at the FAE. »
The long strike was financially difficult for many members who were without strike funds. “It’s a historic choice [qui a été fait] when we founded the Federation,” recalled Mme Hubert, emphasizing that such a strike fund would have required raising considerable sums. “Let’s just imagine compensation of $50 per day times 66,000 people. This requires astronomical sums of money, which would sit in the coffers for several years before we have access to them. » This is why, she said, the union authorities instead recommended that members create their own emergency fund.
The president cited some gains obtained during the negotiations, such as the improvement in the salary scale, the possibility of teleworking during educational days and the obligations imposed on school service centers regarding students from recent immigration. But, according to her, this progress does not represent a “victory in itself”, and members are asking for more. Much work remains to be done for the FAE. “We will have to work to rally our members who have doubts, who are angry with us, with the government and all that. We will also have unifying work to do. »
Remember that, on December 28, the FAE reached an agreement in principle with Quebec, thus ending its 22-day strike started on November 23. In recent weeks, five FAE unions voted for the agreement in principle, while four rejected it.
Friday, members of the Haute-Yamaska Teachers’ Union, the last FAE union to vote, narrowly accepted the agreement in principle in a proportion of 50.58%.