Despite “bitterness, disappointment and anger” to use the words of its president, Mélanie Hubert, the FAE ratified the agreement in principle with the government.
• Read also: “We came up against the limits of the negotiation”: the accepted agreement is “honest” but “insufficient”, according to the FAE
Collective sigh of relief
Above all, we understand that the cat is finally out of the bag. The strike was not part of traditional demands, but rather part of political activism.
“The collective agreement became a first door to making demands.” Read here to demand in-depth reflection on the future of the education system.
And in this regard, the FAE has won its battle.
The composition of the class has become the symptom of the evils caused by the three-speed system, the famous vicious circle of private, public with a special vocation and regular public.
The nose in the face
Minister Bernard Drainville tried to give a helping hand. The upcoming arrival of classroom aids at primary level is proof of this.
Except that in secondary school, we no longer know which way to turn.
When two thirds of students in difficulty are concentrated in regular public classes, no one imagines that the new collective agreement will solve the problem.
We understand that teachers are fed up with this infernal wheel which condemns them to playing heroes year after year.
This is what this strike made us understand.
Minister Drainville will have a lot of work to do to convince us that his 7 priorities are enough to correct this imbalance.
But it is essential. A public school that widens inequalities does not fulfill its mission.
This is the victory of the teachers’ unions. They mobilized public opinion behind the value of public schools.
But saving it does not only require reconsideration within the Ministry of Education. The trade union world, too, will have to examine its conscience.