labour unions

Drainville walks back education cuts, warns against ‘open bar’

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , , , , ,

Drainville walks back education budget cuts, warns against ‘open bar’

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Weeks after asking school boards and service centres to slash their budgets by as much as $570 million, Education Minister Bernard Drainville has reversed course. On July 16, in a post on social media, he announced that the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government had set aside up to $540 million to fund student services.

School boards and service centres will still have to find up to $30 million in savings, and work within spending restrictions imposed by the ministry. “Let’s be clear, this is not an open bar,” Drainville wrote. “Of the $540 million announced today, $425 million will go into a dedicated fund. To have the right [to receive money from this fund], every school service centre must show that it is making efforts to reduce administrative costs, as well as ensuring that the money goes to fund student services only. Accountability will be demanded.”

Although Drainville’s announcement made no mention of English-language school boards, officials from the Ministry of Education and Higher Learning (MEES) and the Quebec English School Boards Association (QESBA) both later confirmed that the announcement also applied to school boards; MEES spokesperson Bryan St-Louis also said $29.5 million of the $540 million was set aside for private schools.

The announcement has left school boards and teachers’ unions scrambling to adapt to a radical funding overhaul, for the second time in two months, at the height of summer vacation.

“Everyone’s on vacation, everyone’s scrambling and making a plan to fill these positions,” said Steven Le Sueur, president of the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT), the union federation representing teachers at English-language public schools. “Some cuts are still going to happen. We haven’t seen the details. I’d like to say we’ll know more before the start of the school year, but we don’t have that information.

“We’re happy [the cuts initially announced] have been retracted, but we’re not jump- ing up and down about it,” he added. “There are still so many issues with workload and class size, and it’s definitely not helping [from a recruitment standpoint] when it’s in the news that they’re cutting $570 million.”

“The additional funding from the ministry is certainly welcome news. We are presently crunching numbers,” said Jean Robert, chair of the Council of Commissioners of the Central Québec School Board, in a brief email exchange with the QCT. “I am convinced that the minister understood his original proposed cuts would directly affect services to our students.” Robert and QESBA communications director Kim Hamilton said they would know more later this summer about how the funding would be divided and distributed between boards and service centres; St-Louis later said the funds would be distributed between school boards, service centres and eligible private schools, pro-rated to student numbers.

The about-face came a week after a National Assembly petition against cuts to education, sponsored by Parti Québécois MNA Pascal Bérubé and heavily promoted by QESBA and by unions and parents’ groups on both sides of the language barrier, began making headlines (see story in last week’s edition on QCT website). As of this writing, it had received nearly 159,000 signatures. It can still be signed on the National Assembly website until Sept. 15. “We’re pleasantly pleased the public outrage worked, but there are still cuts to be made and services will still be affected,” said Le Sueur.

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Strike averted in provincial parks on eve of construction holiday

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , ,

Strike averted in provincial parks on eve of construction holiday

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Campers and kayakers across the province are breathing a sigh of relief and loading up their roof racks after unionized employees at the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (SÉPAQ), the agency which runs Quebec’s provincial parks, voted in favour of a new agreement in principle, avoiding a strike.

Members voted on the agreement on July 17, days before the beginning of the two-week- long construction holiday, a popular time of year for camping. About 75 per cent of voting members approved the agreement, according to the union.

Union locals at SÉPAQ parks around the province are represented by the Syndicat de la fonction publique du Québec (SFPQ) federation. The previous collective agreement between the unions and the SÉPAQ expired at the end of 2023. The union had previously threatened to strike over the June 24 long weekend; that potential strike was averted when the SÉPAQ submitted a new proposed agreement. A strike would have closed most provincial parks, campgrounds and tourist information centres, along with the Aquarium du Québec, several historic sites such as the Manoir Montmorency, and popular SÉPAQ- run hotels such as the Gîte du Mont-Albert and the Auberge du montagne des Chic-Chocs in the Gaspé.

“The high approval rate reflects the members’ satisfaction with this agreement. We are pleased with the positive outcome of these negotiations for all parties, as well as for Quebec vacationers who will be able to enjoy SÉPAQ facilities and the services offered by our members, who are always so passionate and professional,” said SFPQ president Christian Daigle in a statement.

The agreement, valid through the end of 2028, includes “adjustments and raises” that amount to a salary increase of 25 per cent or more, according to the union.

“In addition, there are substantial bonuses for some of the staff, as well as other gains, monetary or normative, related to working conditions. This agreement guarantees our lowest-paid employees will be paid three dollars an hour more than minimum wage for the last three years of the collective agreement. It is thanks to the determination of our members and the hard work of the negotiating team that it was possible to obtain an improved offer. SÉPAQ recognizes more than ever the expertise and contribution of the staff we represent,” said SFPQ vice president and chief negotiator Patrick Audy.

SÉPAQ said in a statement that all reservations made for the summer at SÉPAQ sites would be honoured and sites would remain open. “We are pleased to be able to close this chapter and focus on providing memorable experiences for visitors and conserving exceptional natural areas,” said SÉPAQ CEO Martin Soucy, praising the dedication of SÉPAQ employees and of negotiators on both sides. “SÉPAQ was committed to improving the working conditions of its employees as part of an agreement that respected its ability to pay and did not pass the bill on to visitors.”

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Firefighters’ union rejects proposed collective agreement

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

Firefighters’ union rejects proposed collective agreement

Ruby Pratka

editor@qctonline.com

Representatives of Quebec City’s firefighters’ union and city officials will return to the negotiating table after 75.6 per cent of union members rejected a proposed collective agreement on Oct. 22.

“This result is not a surprise for our organization, which had taken stock of the concerns and expectations expressed by its members throughout the negotiation process,” union representatives said in a statement. “During the consultations, it became clear that several major issues, both in terms of working conditions and salary and regulatory aspects, had not found satisfactory answers. Our members expressed their desire to see significant changes, and this refusal reflects their determination to obtain conditions that meet their expectations and needs.”

“We fully respect the decision of our members, which demonstrates the importance of the unresolved issues in this agreement,” said Alexandre Arturi, president of the Association des pompiers professionnels du Québec (APPQ), which represents about 500 firefighters, fire prevention specialists, dispatchers, in- structors and communications staff serving in the Service de protection contre l’incendie de Québec (SPCIQ; Quebec City fire department). “This vote sends a clear message: we must return to the negotiating table with the objective of obtaining concrete and lasting changes for all of our members.”

The APPQ “remains determined to continue discussions with the relevant bodies, with the same rigour and determination, in order to reach an agreement that meets the legitimate expectations of its members,” the statement said. “We hope this vote will be an opportunity for all parties to engage in a constructive and solution-oriented dialogue that reflects the realities on the ground. We would like to highlight the commitment and mobilization of our members throughout this process and assure them that their voices will continue to be heard in the coming proceedings.”

Under the Quebec labour code, it is illegal for municipal fire or police departments to strike; it’s also illegal for municipalities to lock out police or fire departments during labour disputes. The QCT was not able to obtain clear answers on what pressure tactics are available to firefighters in the event of a labour disagreement.

“In this context, [the Ville de Québec] will have to initiate the mediation process provided for by the law, despite the fact that the monetary and working conditions offered were, in our opinion, more than interesting,” city spokesperson François Moisan said in a brief statement.

Neither city officials nor APPQ representatives commented further, citing the ongoing negotiations.

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Nurses, government accept new collective agreement

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , ,

Nurses, government accept new collective agreement

Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

The Fédération inter- professionnelle de la santé de Québec (FIQ) has accepted a collective agreement proposed by a mediator, bringing an end to more than two years of negotiations with the provincial government.

Members of the FIQ, the province’s largest nurses’ union, voted in an online poll held Oct. 15-17 and briefly paused due to technical difficulties. About two-thirds – 66.3 per cent – of voting members chose to accept the agreement. Voter turnout was estimated at 75 per cent. The FIQ rep- resents about 80,000 nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists and IV technicians in public-sector health facilities across the province.

The vote came six months after members rejected an initial proposed collective agreement by a similar margin. One of the major sticking points in the negotiations, union representatives said, was staff mobility – the idea that a nurse could be assigned, on short notice, to fill in at a facility far from her home or in a capacity that didn’t correspond with her experience (for example, an ER nurse being given a shift at a CHSLD).

“We’re not in celebration mode right now, we’re in ‘we got to the end of it’ mode,” FIQ vice-president Jérémie Rousseau told the QCT. “Two years is a very long time. There’s a huge difference of visions between the government and the health professionals [which creates] an issue with retention. I hope the government will take time to see what is going on on the ground.”

Rousseau noted that the union made some “important gains” in terms of holiday and overtime pay, and secured a 17.4 per cent pay raise over the next five years, identical to the raise public sector workers in the Front Commun union bloc received in their most recent collective agreement.

Nurses secured some concessions from the government around mobility – under nor- mal circumstances, a nurse can only be asked to fill in at a second facility if it’s less than 40 kilometres away from her primary facility and if she will be asked to provide the same kind of care. However, members also agreed to be part of voluntary “flying teams” sent as an occasional stopgap to understaffed facilities in remote regions.

“In addition to helping improve working conditions and providing increased flexibility, the agreement will enable government objectives to be achieved while improving the services offered in the public network,” Treasury Board president Sonia Lebel, Health Minister Christian Dubé, min- ister responsible for social services Lionel Carmant and minister for seniors’ affairs and associate health minister Sonia Bélanger said in a brief joint statement on Oct. 18.

The agreement will be in force until March 31, 2028.

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