Thousands of Quebec government employees on strike
Posted April 26, 2022 11:05 am.
Last Updated April 26, 2022 11:46 am.
Some 26,000 Quebec public employees are on strike Tuesday and Wednesday. Many workers with the Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec came together at Parc des Faubourgs in Montreal.
These are their second and third days of a 10-day strike mandate – the first was March 30. Essential services will have to be maintained.
#WATCH: Some 26,000 Quebec public employees are on strike. Many workers with the Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec came together at Parc des Faubourgs in Montreal.
READ: https://t.co/02nguAa1xP
Video credit: Martin Daigle, CityNews pic.twitter.com/SB23KRXaGB
— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) April 26, 2022
Their collective agreement expired in March 2020, as did the contracts of multiple other public sector unions. But almost all of them have renewed their collective agreement for 2020-2023.
Compensation is at the heart of the dispute. The SFPQ believes that salaries are no longer competitive and that they are detrimental to the recruitment and retention of employees in the public service.
According to the SFPQ, the Quebec government is offering a 2 per cent increase for each fiscal year from 2020-2023. The same increases that have been granted generally to other government employees, with bonuses for the lowest paid and entry-level salaries.
Quebec already indicated that negotiations are ongoing, and they aren’t looking to do it in the public arena.
