Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
editor@qctonline.com
Leaders of Quebec’s four largest public sector unions, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), the Fédération des travail- leurs du Québec (FTQ) and the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS), said at a Jan. 2 press conference that they have reached an agreement in principle with the government, aimed at ending several months of labour strife and securing a five-year collective agreement.
The four unions represent about 420,000 workers across the health, education and social services sector, including Central Québec School Board (CQSB) teachers, CEGEP Champlain-St. Lawrence staff and technical and maintenance staff at public health facilities. Since last year, they have been negotiating with the government as a single bloc, the Front Commun.
CSQ president Éric Gingras told reporters the agreement includes a 17.4 per cent salary increase over five years, with possible additional one per cent increases in the last three years of the contract, tied to the rate of inflation. Other gains included an additional week of paid vacation for workers with at least 19 years’ seniority, a 15 per cent signing bonus for certain specialized workers and a 10 per cent salary increase across the board for psychologists in the health and education sectors. Other changes specific to certain professions are expected to come to light in the coming weeks, as sector-specific bar- gaining units conclude their own agreements. Members will then be asked to vote yes or no on the full agreements, which will be approved or rejected through a double simple majority system – over 50 per cent of locals must show that over 50 per cent of their members approved the agreement. Local votes are expected to finish no later than Feb. 20.
Although Gingras emphasized that the last few months of negotiation had won some concessions – “the initial [salary increase] offer was nine per cent, and we doubled that” – he stopped short of formally recommending that CSQ members vote in favour. FTQ president Magali Picard, whose federation was the last of the four to reach an agree- ment, recommended that FTQ members vote in favour. “We made gains at all the [sectorial] tables, which is why we feel comfortable recommend- ing this agreement,” she said.
“We will wait until Feb. 20 to make sure our members think it’s a good deal,” Gingras said. “It’s up to them now.”
Reactions to the agreement on social media were mixed, with some public sector work- ers applauding it while others called for it to be rejected. CSN vice-president François Énault said there were “several scenarios” if the agreement wasn’t approved by all four federations, including federation-specific strikes. Picard said a general strike was now “very unlikely.”
Steven Le Sueur is the president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT), a CSQ-affiliated federation which represents teachers in the province’s English public schools. Although he could not share details of the sector-specific agreement that teachers will vote on, he said said it contained steps forward on salary, workload and class composition. “We haven’t lost anything and we have made some gains – maybe not as much as we would have liked, but there are some gains,” he said.
The Fédération autonome d’enseignement (FAE) which represents about 60,000 teachers at French-language public schools around the province, including in Quebec City, reached an agreement in principle on Dec. 28, ending a month-long general strike. Details have yet to be made public. FAE president Mélanie Hubert said in a statement that individual unions would meet to vote on the agree- ment “after the holidays.” The FAE recommended that its members vote in favour of the agreement, although Hubert said the final decision was in their hands. Students returned to class Jan. 9.
The other major public sector union currently in negotiation with the government, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), which represents more than 80,000 health professionals, mostly nurses, has not reached an agreement as of this writing. Shortly before Christmas, Labour Minister Jean Boulet appointed a mediator to assist in negotiations. A FIQ source told the QCT that the two sides are “in intensive negotiations” and no further public statements would be made until Jan. 15. FIQ members held a seven-day strike from Dec. 8-14, and the union warned at the time that the next step would be a general strike.