Demonstration in Montreal for public service workers amid stalled contract talks

Thousands of public sector workers took part in a demonstration Saturday in Montreal.

A coalition of four union groups organized the march amid stalled negotiations with the government to renew collective agreements covering hundreds of thousands of employees.

The march began at Jeanne-Mance Park at 1 p.m. and moved toward the Quartier des spectacles in downtown Montreal.

Organizers say they want to show support for public services, such as health, education and social services, which are suffering from staff shortages.

“We just want the government to be fair. They just gave themselves a raise for 30 percent right now not over the next five years, right now,” said Magali Picard, president of the FTQ.

“Teachers are important and our demands towards the government and our conditions are just as important because they directly reflect what our kids are getting,” added Montreal-area teacher Bianca Aloe. “And I find that everyone says education is so important. ‘Teachers are the most important to us.’ However that’s not reflected.”

Eric Gingras, president of an organization that includes teacher and health care worker unions, says the goal is to amplify workers’ calls for higher salaries and better working conditions.

Quebec Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel issued a social media statement this morning saying unions need to be more flexible in negotiations.

She said the government’s goal is to reach agreements with the unions as quickly as possible to avoid disruptions to public services.

But Gingras rejects the suggestion that public sector employees need to do more, saying union flexibility in the past only served to make way for poor political decisions.

“It’s the usual pushback, the government always says that. Its the working class that has to tighten their belt, its the working class that has to compromise but we’re done with compromising we compromise every time,” protester Natalia Garcia told CityNews. “We are basically getting wages that are not keeping up with inflation, people are having a harder and harder time paying their bills, I mean I thought we were heroes, what happened?”

The coalition of unions brings together the CSQ, the FTQ, the APTS and the CSN, which represent a combined 420,000 public service workers.

“Is it because we represent here today over 78 per cent of women during this fight?” said Picard. “Is it the reason why they feel OK to propose the really insulting offers? I don’t know. One thing is sure: we want the government to be fair, equitable and to respect the economy. We know the inflation is high, very high, way higher than what they propose in their indexation for the salaries. So we want them to listen to see what the people are going to tell them and to respect the population and their employees.”