Public sector unions will disrupt the convention of the Coalition avenir Québec (CAQ) of François Legault Saturday in Sherbrooke.
The unions grouped in a common front deplore the slowness of the negotiations in progress and reject the employers’ offers from Quebec.
The four organizations, FTQ, CSN, CSQ and APTS, have every intention of making themselves heard by the hundreds of CAQ activists who will be meeting at the Center de expositions with their leader and elected government officials.
The collective agreements of 600,000 state employees expired on March 31.
Quebec has so far offered wage increases of 9% over five years, plus a lump sum of $1,000 and an amount equivalent to 2.5% reserved for “government priorities”. Quebec therefore claims to present an offer of up to 13% over five years.
The common front, for its part, is demanding a $100 per week increase or the consumer price index (CPI) plus 2% for the first year of the employment contracts, whichever formula is most advantageous for the workers, then the CPI plus 3% for the second year followed by CPI plus 4% for the third.
The common front unions believe that they have wasted a lot of time with the discussion forums that the government wanted to set up in parallel with the negotiations at the tables. They feel that the negotiation meetings are too far apart.
The salary issue remains the main dispute, however.
The government also wants to lengthen the working week for many in the health sector. In some cases, it would go from 37.5 to 40 hours, and in others, from 35 to 37.5 hours.
The Interprofessional Health Federation (FIQ) stands apart from the common front. She too finds that the negotiations are not making much progress.
Also apart, the Union of the Public Service of Quebec (SFPQ) and the Union of Professionals of the Government of Quebec (SPGQ) have demands concerning teleworking.