As the white smoke settles, we are beginning to measure the impact of Quebec’s proposed settlement with the Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE-CSQ).
It risks leaving several members of the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) wondering. Last May, the Montreal section of this union, the Alliance of Professors of Montreal, met at the St-Denis Theater to vote with 98% for an unlimited general strike mandate. It was very early.
Behind the scenes, other unions were surprised. The Alliance welcomed it. She said she wanted to be a “leader” in this fight. This is how some 600 union members set in motion the spiral that would draw their 66,000 other colleagues into this fight, even before the start of summer.
The cause of teachers is noble. Their work is not valued at its true value. By fighting for their working conditions, they also help their students. But the question of means remains unresolved.
The FSE-CSQ stuck to a more conventional strategy. It began with rotating strikes. She was ready, with the rest of the Common Front, to intensify her pressure tactics to move to an indefinite general strike in the coming days. It finally obtained a settlement proposal without subjecting its members to a strike of more than 20 days without pay.
An indefinite general strike is the option of last resort, when nothing else works. Last spring, it was a little early to assume an impasse in the negotiations. Of course, they were moving very slowly. But no one expected the start of unblocking before the start of autumn.
With hindsight, we can wonder if the visceral distrust of the CAQ government was not harmful.
To defeat an opponent, you must understand him. If we don’t know what he’s thinking, we won’t be able to predict his next reaction. In the eyes of the most militant fringe of the FAE, the CAQ is a right-wing government that wants to weaken public services.
Moreover, this is an idea that we hear more and more: the Legault government does not believe in public services. The strike would demonstrate that he wants to weaken them. And perhaps even begin an insidious privatization.
However, the more public services deteriorate, the more unpopular this government becomes. And since he’s not a masochist, he wants to protect them.
It is true that in the last two decades, education was not really a priority. We did not anticipate the increase in cohorts, which would have required training more teachers and professionals. There was also a delay in renovating schools.
However, from 2004 to 2014, expenses for this mission increased by 35%. This is a little less than GDP, which increased by 38%. The effort was therefore very average. But it wasn’t austerity either.
From 2014 to 2016, budget cuts really hurt. This period, however, was brief. In 2017, education spending started to rise again, and this increase accelerated under the CAQ.
From 2019 to 2023, the education budget increased by 6.4% per year, more than that of other ministries. And from 2024 to 2026, the average annual increase will also be 6.4%, compared to 3.6% for all portfolios.
All the unions criticize the government for having reduced taxes. According to them, this sum should have been injected into public services. This criticism stands up very well. But there is no slow privatization, quite the contrary.
Unsubsidized private daycares are repatriated to the public network. Same thing for private CHSLDs not under agreement, which will be subject to public conditions. And in health, private employment agencies will gradually be eliminated.
Certainly, pilot projects exist to create private mini-hospitals. But overall, we cannot speak of a government that wants to privatize public services.
The FAE rightly deplores the three-speed system which perpetuates and aggravates inequality of opportunity. But it was not created by the CAQ members, and it is not a subject that will be resolved during these negotiations.
The FAE was created in 2006 following an internal crisis at the FSE-CSQ. More militant teachers had disaffiliated. The tension has never disappeared since then between the two camps.
In 2019, the FAE was the first to reach an agreement with the CAQ government. Thanks to the pay parity clauses, the FSE-CSQ had benefited from this. This time it will probably be the opposite.
If the members of the FSE-CSQ support the possible agreement, the union executive will not hesitate to recall it during the next raiding period. The FAE would, however, be right to say that its sacrifices increased the pressure on the government and that the FSE-CSQ benefited from it.
In the short term, however, everyone will be cautious. The unions are preparing the de-escalation so that their members ratify what they have negotiated. And the CAQ government has every interest in being extremely discreet.
For union members to support the agreements, they will have to feel that they were right to go through with their power struggle. That they won. And every little gesture of rejoicing from Quebec will give them the impression that this is not the case.