The 66,500 teacher members of the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) will begin an indefinite general strike on Thursday in order to put pressure on the Quebec government, from which they are demanding an improvement in their salary and working conditions. In an interview, the president of the FAE, Mélanie Hubert, recognizes that this “ultimate” means of pressure will severely affect thousands of students, as well as their parents, in several regions of the province. However, “the status quo is no longer an option,” she emphasizes. Comments collected by Jasmine Legendre.
First, why did you opt for an indefinite general strike rather than one-off strike days?
This is the strategy that the members retained from the start when we began to discuss pressure tactics when our employment contract expired at the end of March 2023. And quickly, the members demonstrated their level of commitment. exhaustion, of the feeling that this negotiation really had to change things for the future in the public education network. This is how the strike mandates were given.
There are children in the private sector who will continue their learning because their teachers are not on strike. Then, we have the Inter-union Common Front which will hold three days of strike, from Tuesday to Thursday. Are parents and children served by your union likely to be harmed by this indefinite general strike?
We will not hide it, the children in the affected school service centers will suffer impacts, as will the families and employers of these parents too. The principle of a strike is first of all to sow sand in the gears and prevent things from working. This is the ultimate means of pressure. So yes, the affected students will have repercussions, that’s for sure. And we do not do it cheerfully because the teachers who go on strike will also be deprived of their salaries on the eve of the Christmas holidays. This too is not to be neglected.
But what we tell ourselves is that our students have also suffered from poor network conditions for a very long time. And for us, it’s time for that to change. The government will have to take more significant measures than what we saw in the last negotiations for the situation to improve, particularly in terms of the staff shortage. This is the objective we are pursuing.
You said it, teachers will find themselves without pay for the Christmas holidays, in particular because the FAE does not have a strike fund. This means they will not be paid during the walkout. Do you think this could become a problem for your members?
Our members made this decision with full knowledge of the facts. It’s not new that we don’t have a strike fund. This also shows to what extent the fed-up is widespread and to what extent the members are determined to make their voice heard by all means possible. Personally, I have been in union organizations for fifteen years, campaigning more actively, and I have never seen the members mobilized as they are in this negotiation, determined to make themselves heard, convinced that there Things need to change. We really have the impression of having reached the limits, even of having exceeded the limits and that we will quickly have to make a significant change. The status quo is no longer an option, and an agreement that would change things cosmetically is not an option that will be retained by the members.
As you said, the unlimited general strike is the ultimate means of pressure. Are you afraid that the government will use a special law to force teachers back to work?
In 2015, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to strike is a fundamental right protected by charters. It is therefore more difficult than before to impose special laws. But suppose the government chooses to go there anyway. Watching the teachers in the short term might work. But, I repeat, the agreement that will be signed at the end of the negotiations will impose conditions on us for the next five years. If this does not improve things, our members will continue to walk towards exhaustion and will continue to reconsider their career choice. In the long term, the entire public network would lose out on people who are demotivated and who may choose another career. We can’t afford that right now.
This interview has been edited for brevity.