Thousands of public daycare workers to vote on strike mandate

Thousands of public daycare (CPE) workers will be called upon, in the coming days, to decide on a “progressive strike” mandate.

These are 3,000 workers who are members of unions of the Fédération des intervenantes en petite enfance (FIPEQ), which is affiliated with the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ).

They will vote on this strike mandate starting from next Monday until May 16.

If the mandate is granted by the members, this possible progressive strike would be triggered “at the time deemed appropriate,” said Valérie Grenon, president of the FIPEQ, in an interview.

A progressive strike can be broken down into hours, half-days, days or blocks of a few days.

“We will go there gradually,” said Grenon. “If we have to use it, to calmly put pressure.”

“We are not at all on an unlimited general strike, for the moment,” she clarified.

No negotiation

“We are not negotiating at all,” said the the union leader. “We had a meeting this week: they wanted to explain to us the state of Quebec’s finances.”

The president of the Conseil du trésor, Sonia LeBel, indicated in Feb. that before submitting her offers, she wanted to wait until the other union organizations, and not just FIPEQ, had submitted their requests.

However, other union organizations concerned at the CSN and the FTQ have told The Canadian Press that they have been ready for months.

Grenon adds that even if Quebec was not ready to submit its salary offer intended for everyone, it could have started discussions on the normative clauses specific to each union organization.

And Grenon “does not at all” want to wait until Sept., or even the fall, to begin negotiations. The collective agreements expired on March 31, 2023, at the same time as those in the public sector.

[10:17 AM] Melanie Porco

The FIPEQ has filed a bad faith negotiation complaint against Quebec.

“We wish we hadn’t gone there,” said Grenon. “Honestly, we thought that the government was committed to our network to offer places to parents. But we are going to put the necessary pressure on to maintain our workers and have a real deposit and finally negotiate.”

The CPEs that would be affected by a possible FIPEQ strike are located in the regions of Chaudière-Appalaches, Montreal, Laval, Capitale-Nationale, Montérégie, Lanaudière, Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Estrie.

Not all CPEs in these regions would be affected, since the two other union centers also represent workers there.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews