19 Quebec daycares on strike

Around 500 workers at 16 public daycares (CPEs) entered their third and final full strike day on Wednesday in Quebec.

The members of the Syndicat québécois des employées de service (SQEES), affiliated with the FTQ, recently held similar strike actions on Dec. 4. and Dec 11. 

After failing to reach a new deal with the Quebec government over their collective agreement, the group could decide to launch an indefinite strike.

For CPE workers, the main dispute is centered around remuneration, since the salary for a qualified entry-level educator is $21.60 per hour.

A qualified educator in a CPE earns $21.60 per hour at the first level and $28.60 per hour at the 10th level, then, after one year at level 10: $30.03 per hour.

However, the unions argue that they have still not received the 17.4 per cent pay increase offer over five years that all government employees received.

Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel said that the 17.4 per cent salary increases over five years in the public sector had been granted in exchange for “compensation in terms of flexibility in work organization that has a real impact on services.”

The SQEES reported on Wednesday that it had two negotiation meetings with Quebec last week, without a new salary offer being presented. The union said it is disappointed.

Meanwhile, members of the Syndicat des Métallosat the Touchatouille daycare centres in Port-Cartier, Au jardin de Pierrot daycare centre in Rouyn-Noranda and Les P’tits maringouins daycare centre in Matagami have launched their first strike day.

Both the Syndicat québécois des employées de service and the Métallosat union already have a mandate for an unlimited general strike. It could be exercised after the holidays, if there is no progress in the ongoing negotiations to renew their collective agreement, said SQEES president Sylvie Nelson.

Métallosat union representative Sonia Charrette said that this first day of walkouts, in their case, “aims to send a message to the government about the urgency of improving working conditions and professional practice in CPEs.”

Quebec wants to open thousands of places in daycare services to meet demand but it’s also facing a shortage of workers in daycare services.

The Fédération des intervenantes en petite enfance (FIPEQ-CSQ), which represents 9,000 members, recently announced that they reached an agreement in principle with the Quebec government.