Strike by CSN-affiliated daycare educators 

Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist

GASPÉ – On January 23, at least 150 of the 300 daycare educators in the Gaspé Peninsula and Magdalen Islands, affiliated with the CSN union, demonstrated in the streets of Gaspé, to activate the renewal of the collective labour agreement, which expired on March 31, 2023. 

As a result, parents who have children attending one of the 12 early childhood centres (CPE) in the region had to find alternative childcare for the day. 

This is the first day of strike action out of five adopted last fall. “It’s satisfying to see so many educators mobilized. This proves to us that almost all early childhood educators need better working conditions, better support for children in difficulty, and better pedagogical support. They need better working conditions in general,” states the president of the Gaspésie-Îles-de-la-Madeleine Central Council of the CSN, Serge Saint-Pierre. 

CPEs are struggling to recruit workers, as is the case for the new 71-place facility in Chandler, which is only operating at 25% of its capacity due to the inability to recruit enough staff. 

“We see that in large centres, educators are leaving to go work at places like Walmart or Costco, where they are paid more and the workload is much less,” explains Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

“If we want economic development, if we want regional development, one of the problems we see is the lack of places in early childhood. The government can resolve this issue and make it a priority. That’s what it said it would do a few years ago. We’re still waiting for the results,” says Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

The educators also visited the office of Gaspé Member of the National Assembly Stéphane Sainte-Croix to present their demands. 

“We need early childhood centres. The network isn’t sick, but we’re having trouble retaining workers and attracting them to fill vacant positions. It’s having an impact on the region’s economy to accommodate the children of parents looking for work. Workers aren’t returning to the workforce because there aren’t any daycare spaces,” explained Mr. Saint-Pierre. 

At the negotiating table, some sector-specific issues have been resolved, but no salary offers have been made by the employer. 

Meanwhile, other CPE workers’ unions have settled with the Quebec government. “It’s a matter for the negotiating committee. Why did Quebec settle with the small CPE unions and not make a final offer with the CSN? We have the impression that they want to drag out the negotiations,” believes Gaétan Leblanc, regional vice-president of the CSN’s Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux. 

The union still has four more strike days that can be used as needed. 

The workers are demanding a lighter workload, better pay to ensure attraction and retention, regional disparity bonuses for employees in certain remote regions and measures to improve the quality of services to children. These include clear and respected ratios between the number of educators and children, as well as better support for children with special needs. 

In Quebec, 13,000 educators affiliated with the CSN were on strike on January 23. 

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