Quebec criticizes the Autonomous Education Federation for remaining inflexible on class assignment. The union believes that this declaration harms the climate of negotiations and continues its indefinite general strike.
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The hope of an imminent end to the conflict, glimpsed last Friday evening, gave way to a new impasse Monday morning.
After receiving an employer offer deemed “interesting”, but insufficient at the end of last week, the FAE presented a counter-proposal on Saturday.
But in Quebec, it is deemed inadmissible. The Legault government is demanding to be able to assign classes to teachers in the spring, rather than at the start of the school year, in September.
“Unfortunately, the union remains on its positions and has not included anything in its counter-offer regarding flexibility,” declared the president of the Treasury Board in a written statement.
Sonia LeBel emphasized having made, for her part, “important openings” on “several priority issues for the union, such as professional autonomy and the composition of the class”.
The Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, also deplored the intransigence of the FAE, while Quebec threw in the towel. “In return, we ask that we be able to have a return to school that is pleasant for the children,” he said.
“We want teachers to be assigned to their classes before leaving for the summer vacation, so that when the children return from the summer vacation, they know which teacher they will be able to start the year with. school,” he says.
Powder fire
The statement of Mme LeBel made the president of the FAE, Mélanie Hubert, jump.
“We have to give ourselves time at the tables and this interference today, in my opinion, is harmful to what is happening at our negotiating tables,” she declared, a few minutes before the start of a demonstration which was to end in front of the office of Prime Minister François Legault, in Montreal.
The FAE recognizes that gains have been made on the composition of classes, but wants to ensure that corrections will be made systematically when a group includes too many students in difficulty or with special needs.
“The management side does not want to make any commitments on this,” said M.me Hubert.
For the trade unionist, Sonia LeBel’s statement demonstrates that the unlimited general strike, which affects 40% of schools, is likely to continue this week.
“Hearing the statement that was made this morning, we can imagine that it will indeed be difficult to reach an agreement soon,” she declared.
Flexibility
The FAE claims to have made proposals that move towards greater flexibility, but at the same time emphasizes that reviewing the assignment system is “very complex”.
Quebec’s demands, according to Mme Hubert, include “stopping postings after July 1, giving back full rights to management to do what they want with positions, to the detriment of our precarious people.”
“They are also asking to remove people from priority lists if they refuse contracts that are not to their liking,” she added.