This text is part of the special section Unionism
The fall of 2023 has started with a bang in the Quebec union community. The main centers representing the public sector are united to obtain better working conditions, while galloping inflation, labor shortages, the housing crisis and the disastrous consequences of climate change rage. But where are the major social projects for Quebec to emerge from these paralyzing conjectures with its head held high? asks Caroline Senneville, president of the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN).
Every era has its share of challenges. But for Caroline Senneville, the one we are currently going through is taking Quebec towards a crossroads… and sooner rather than later.
“Robotization, artificial intelligence, economic transformation to adapt to climate change and reduce our greenhouse gas emissions… and in addition, the global context which has become more complex with what is happening in the Middle East. Orient,” immediately lists the president of the CSN, reached by telephone.
“When we add it all up, we are seeing economic and social changes like we haven’t seen in a long time! » she adds.
However, the CAQ government does not seem to have a global plan to move Quebec forward at a sustained pace, worries the unionist.
“We don’t feel any direction or overall game plan,” laments Mme Senneville. We would like there to be a 360-degree vision that would take into account the fact that when we touch one element, it can have an impact elsewhere. Currently, we are more in an action-reaction logic. »
The battery industry
There is the famous battery sector, a swarm of ambitious projects for which the provincial and federal governments have been multiplying announcements for several months – the latest being that of the installation of the mega-factory of the Swedish giant Northvolt in Montérégie, a $7 billion project which is expected to create 4,000 jobs.
“One of the characteristics of our economy is that we have a lot of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), recalls M.me Senneville. We must also support them. SMEs come with the vitality of the regions, with diversification and resilience of the economy. »
The president of the CSN is worried about all the millions that Quebec and Ottawa are injecting into foreign companies, and the consequences of these megaprojects on the environment.
“The difference between a planet and a grocery list”
Another big problem hitting Quebec hard is the labor shortage, of course. In health, in education, within social services…
The Legault government is proposing solutions, admits Mme Senneville, but piecemeal… like offering accelerated training to attract more beneficiary attendants in the short term.
“It’s a lack of vision,” says the trade unionist. How do we act to prevent problems? Not only does it take a vision to resolve them, but can we also organize ourselves so that there are fewer of them? »
The president of the CSN cites as an example two major initiatives which, according to her, transformed Quebec: the creation of early childhood centers (CPE), in 1997, and the Quebec Parental Insurance Plan (RQAP), in 2006, “which allowed women to participate more in the labor market and increased Quebec’s GDP.”
So, do we need big social projects like these?
“It’s not fair to have big ones, the important thing,” she adds. A small measure can also have an impact. It’s the difference between having a plan and a grocery list. It’s all well and good having a list, but it requires other steps: planning a menu, executing it. Yes, we have lists, but we don’t feel the real integrated action plan. »
The explosive global context, the need for structuring projects for Quebec… all this is also taking place in a period of fairly intense negotiations for the CSN which, with the other main unions, representing public sector workers, are forming a common front to demand better working conditions for their 420,000 members, whose collective agreement expired on March 31.
However, after about twenty minutes of the interview, the president of the CSN still has not addressed the question.
“If I had started with the public sector, I would have done the same thing that I criticize the government for, that is to say not seeing the big picture “, she quips.
The negotiations are rather difficult at the moment. “If we have to go on strike, we will do it,” recalls Mme Senneville, while already, support for the strike mandate is between 90% and 95%, according to the CSN.
“But beyond that, what is the game plan we have for the public sector? We can’t just go from negotiation period to negotiation period. »
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