Union receives new offer as library strike drags on
Ruby Pratka, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
editor@qctonline.com
The end may be in sight as the strike by employees in the Quebec City public library system enters its eighth week.
The Institut Canadien de Québec (ICQ), the nonprofit organization which runs the library system, tabled a second proposed agreement on April 19. The first such agreement, put forward by a conciliator from the Quebec labour ministry, was rejected by the Ville de Québec, which funds the library system.
The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCWU, more widely known in Quebec by its French acronym TUAC) local 501 represents about 200 employees of the 26 public libraries in Quebec City, including collections and billing staff. They have been on strike since March 1. Major sticking points, according to the union, include salaries for entry-level staff, indexation to inflation, lower salaries than city employees in similar roles, the ability to take partial vacation days, shift schedules arranged so that breaks are unpaid, and unpredictable schedule changes. “In some areas [managers] would make major schedule changes without checking with employees, but people have family lives and schedule changes can disrupt the whole family,” said union spokesperson Roxane Larouche.
Larouche said members were “very disappointed but not surprised” when the previous agreement was nixed by the city. “The city didn’t approve the previous agreement [for financial reasons], so whatever comes next, workers figure what is coming next will have less on the table,” she added.
“This [second] offer takes into account all the concerns raised by the union, particularly with regard to entry-level salaries, catching up with city employees, salary progressions, work-life balance and elements related to scheduling and bonuses, while keeping in mind the need to ensure responsible management of the public funds entrusted to [the library system],” ICQ spokesperson Mélisa Imedjouben said in a statement. “The Institut Canadien de Québec wishes to reach a settlement as quickly as possible with its unionized staff.”
Larouche, who had not had time to review the offer as of late Friday afternoon, said the union would review the offer, present it to members and schedule a vote in the coming days.
Most of the public libraries in Quebec City have been closed since the strike began. The Monique-Corriveau Library in Sainte-Foy, the Étienne-Parent Library in Beauport and the Gabrielle-Roy Library in Saint-Roch are open with reduced hours. The Morrin Centre Library is managed by a separate nonprofit organization (the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec) and is not affected by the strike.