FAE teachers’ agreement: Extra time given for one union to vote

The Syndicat de l’enseignement de la Haute-Yamaska (SEHY) will have until Thursday to vote on the agreement in principle between the Quebec government and the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE).

The voting period was extended in order to accommodate the teachers working evenings.

This will be the last of the nine FAE affiliated unions to vote.

SEHY is made up of 3,000 members, and their vote will be the tiebreaker because it is currently deadlocked with four unions in favour and four unions against the agreement in principle.

The local union had already called on its members to reject the agreement.

The Syndicat de l’enseignement de la Pointe-de-l’Île, l’Alliance des professeures et professeurs de Montréal, the Syndicat de l’enseignement de l’Outaouais and the Syndicat de l’enseignement de l’Ouest de Montréal have voted in favour.

The four other unions, l’enseignement de la région de Laval, Basses-Laurentides, l’enseignement des Seigneuries et de la région de Québec have voted against.

The fate of the agreement in principle rests in the hands of the teaching staff of the Val-des-Cerfs School Service Center in Granby.

At the National Assembly Tuesday morning, Quebec Education Minister Bernard Drainville didn’t want to comment on the upcoming vote.

“We will hope for the best,” he said, when asked about the consequences of rejection towards the agreement by FAE union members.

The president of the FAE, Mélanie Hubert, refused to answer questions on the subject.

“We will leave it to the decision of the members,” she declared, promising to comment on the case once the verdict is known.

Voting on the agreement in principle started on Jan. 17 and the final decision is expected to be revealed Feb. 7.

Five of the nine unions affiliated with the FAE and a majority of its 66,500 members must ratify the agreement in principle for it to be accepted.