Common Front public sector unions strike across Quebec Nov. 6
By William Crooks
Local Journalism Initiative
Some 420,000 Common Front public sector union members went on strike Nov. 6, hundreds of which rallied in front of Complexe Saint-Vincent-de-Paul in Sherbrooke waving union flags and chanting slogans. Representatives from the CSN, CSQ, FTQ and APTS unions took turns addressing the gathering in a show of unity and defiance to the provincial government’s latest offer (including a 10.3 per cent salary increase over five years) after nearly a year of negotiations. If negotiations continue to stall, they will strike again Nov. 21-23.
“We don’t need a little, we need a lot,” CSQ representative Richard Bergevin said. “Do you truly think [Premier Francois] Legault’s offer will attract people to our professions?” He emphasized that public sector professions need qualified new inductees that really want to be there, so they must maintain their solidarity to guarantee a real augmentation of their work conditions. The crowd responded with shouts in unison of, “Solidarity!”
“It’s a historic day… 420,000 have risen up,” FTQ representative Éric Bergeron said. Public sector workers are speaking out to take care of our society, he went on. The government is trying to convince to populace that investing in health and education is an expense. Diligent workers in our schools are building the Quebec of the future. When citizens arrive at school, at the hospital, or the aged at public retirement homes, they deserve the best service possible, which means workers deserve better working conditions.
“Why are we on strike?” CSN representative Denis Beaudin asked rhetorically. The government’s offer, whether nine or 10.3 per cent “is all the same”, means you are impoverished, he exclaimed. The government claims they do not have the ability to pay any more, but to serve the public, they must pay more. The crowd cheered. “Today is just a half-day warning,” he said, but if things do not change, come Nov. 21, 22 and 23, “we are out!”
“It is an investment into Quebec’s economy!” said Danny Roulx, APTS representative. He said he has a message for Legault and Minister Sonia LeBel: we are the personnel that support and accompany our youth throughout their schooling and produce the workers of the future; we are the doctors; we take care of the buildings – it all contributes to the economy. He then led a chant of, “Us! With one voice!” and said they would keep at it until the government finally understands.