FAE teachers march to Legault’s Montreal office, union reports progress in negotiations
Posted December 12, 2023 8:30 am.
Last Updated December 12, 2023 3:40 pm.
Striking teachers with the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE) marched in front of the office of Quebec Premier François Legault Tuesday morning.
Wearing their red tuques and waving red FAE flags, the unionized workers made their voices heard as their strike entered its 14th day.
Some 66,000 teachers with the FAE union have been on unlimited strike since Nov. 23.
After speaking of “progress made in the last few hours” on Monday evening, the FAE justifying its statement on Tuesday saying the government “finally seems to want to talk about union demands too, not just management demands”.
“It’s not because we’re talking that we’re on the verge of settling,” insisted Patrick Bydal, vice-president of political life for the FAE, on Tuesday, at a press briefing at the start of a demonstration by its members in Montreal.
Earlier on Monday, Treasury Board President Sonia Lebel said the CAQ government and FAE negotiators were in a crucial phase towards a possible agreement
“Important discussions have taken place and we now have on the table the essential elements to reach an agreement,” Lebel wrote in a social media post.
The change noted by the FAE, in fact, “is that at last the government seems to want to talk at the negotiating table not only about its demands, but also about the demands of teachers”, summarized Bydal.
He would not give any details publicly on the content of these negotiations. “There are discussions on all the priorities.”
On Monday morning, the FAE had revealed that it had made a concession, which it described as very important, regarding the assignment of teachers to classes in June rather than at the start of the school year in August. But it deplored the government’s response that it now had to compromise on other issues.
For its part, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ), which has been on strike again since Monday, revealed it had made a counter-proposal to the government. It was still awaiting a response on Monday, and said it was prepared to negotiate over the holiday period if necessary.
The FIQ, which represents 80,000 nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists, is holding a four-day strike until Thursday.
Meanwhile the Common Front union group, representing 420,000 workers, has been on strike since Dec. 8, until Dec. 14.
–With files from La Presse Canadienne
