Daycare workers across Quebec continue to strike in hope of better contract

Three unions representing daycare workers in Quebec have turned to job action amid contract negotiations with the Quebec government.

This Wednesday, the union representing 500 workers in 16 CPEs in Quebec, three of them located in Montreal, will begin the first of three full strike days scheduled for December 4th, 11th and 18th. 

“We need a good offer. If it’s not happening, we’ll have to increase our strike strategy and maybe go on unlimited strike in January,” said Jennifer Genest, Vice-President, Syndicat Québécois des Employées et Employés de services (SQEES-FTQ).

“Our educators in daycares that are looking for your children all day long, they’re paid like 15 to 20% less than in schools. So what we need at least for now is the parity with the school services,” added Genest.

Last month, about 9,000 members affiliated with the FIPEQ union working in at-home daycares began job action by opening half an hour later at 7:30am, then every following week doors opened progressively later, at 8:30am, then at 10am, and as of December 6th at noon.

The 3,000 members of this same union working in early childhood centres apply similar job action on Fridays. 

“We’ve suffered all the inflation that we’ve all lived through without any raises. And presently, they’re at the negotiating table, but it’s going really slowly. And it’s becoming frustrating for all the members because we’ve been waiting for quite a while now,” said Silvana Wallace, a home educator and Secretary of ADIM Montréal affiliated with FIPEQ.

The third union, affiliated with the CSN, has asked parents to provide lunches for their children on Wednesdays starting this week in at-home daycares. Alex-Ann Adams, a mother, whose daughter is in an at-home daycare, supports the job action. 

“We support these actions because the daycare providers are simply asking for basic rights. They want a pension plan, they want the subsidies to reflect inflation, and I think that this daycare situation also speaks to gender politics, right? Because it’s a woman-led profession,” said Adams.

Each of the three unions has other measures should new contracts not be reached. The CSN has a strike mandate up to five days and members affiliated with the FTQ have approved an unlimited strike mandate. 

“We are hoping that our strategy going one day at a time is going to help and to be sufficient that we don’t have to go on an unlimited strike. Of course, we don’t like to go on strike. It’s not a purpose for us to go on strike. We use that leverage so we can achieve more for our educators,” said Genest.

“We’re asking parents to understand that we’re not only fighting for ourselves, we’re fighting for their children too, from the quality of services that they deserve, them and their children,” said Wallace.