(Montreal) The indefinite general strike that took place since 1er December in CPEs is officially over. The union members of the CSN and the FIPEQ-CSQ adopted the agreement in principle.
“It was not an easy negotiation, but we managed to make several advances thanks to the solidarity and determination of our members”, announced Sunday morning Stéphanie Vachon, representative of the childcare center sector (CPE ) to the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS – CSN), which qualifies this negotiation as “historic”. The agreement was 93% adopted.
Qualified educators and specialized educators obtained a salary catch-up of 18%. In addition, support staff, including administration, kitchens and housekeeping, increased from 8% to 12.5%. The government initially offered 6%, the CSN said.
The new collective agreement will also provide for the addition of three hours devoted to the preparation of the child’s file and eight hours granted to food managers for the management of the kitchen.
They will also get two additional holidays. A committee, whose mandate is to determine the main difficulties experienced by educators in the integration of children with special needs, will also be set up.
“We hope that the progress made thanks to our fighting spirit will ensure the sustainability of the network and convince the workers to stay there,” said Lucie Longchamps, vice-president of the FSSS-CSN, in a press release.
“The question of the ratios of children per educator remains open, but Minister Lacombe has said he is ready to work with us to find a solution to this problem. We will therefore continue to lead this fight on another ground in order to obtain satisfaction, ”she added.
The FIPEQ-CSQ follows closely
At the end of the day on Sunday, the members of the Federation of Early Childhood Workers of Quebec (FIPEQ-CSQ) in CPEs also ratified the agreement in principle at 95.5%.
“Childcare center staff have made significant gains which ensure better recognition and recognition of the profession. The solidarity of our members has been remarkable and we have been able to demonstrate that a childcare center is like a family and that all employment groups are essential for the educational mission ”, declared the president of the FIPEQ-CSQ, Valérie Grenon, in a press release.
However, she specifies that several problems raised at the negotiating table remain unanswered “while the interveners are exhausted by their tasks and the lack of support”.
The four organizations representing workers in childcare centers, namely the FSSS-CSN, the FIPEQ-CSQ, the SQEES-FTQ and the Métallos-FTQ, all reached an agreement with Quebec, on Wednesday, one after another.
The Federation of Health and Social Services had initially announced the return to work on Monday, even though members had not yet spoken on the agreement, before modifying the message to indicate that the return would ultimately depend on the result of the vote. , which is now done.
Relief from the opposition
The opposition parties said they were relieved by this agreement. “We therefore owe a debt of gratitude to the mobilization of early childhood workers who have gone to the end of their convictions for their working conditions, but also for the future of a network that the government must stop neglecting”, a declared Véronique Hivon, spokesperson for the Parti Québécois in family matters.
For her part, Christine Labrie, spokesperson for Quebec solidaire in matters of education and family, said she was relieved that common ground had been found. “I hope that this will make it possible to retain the educators and to consolidate and develop the network. She specifies, however, that several issues have not been resolved, such as respecting the ratios per educator. “I will continue to work on this file,” she said.
With The Canadian Press