Amid second strike day for unionized CPE daycare workers in Quebec, third day planned Feb. 17

About 13,000 workers in 400 early childhood centres (CPEs) across Quebec held a second day of strike action on Thursday – and announced a third day planned for Feb. 17, unless an agreement in principle is reached.

Neighbourhood rallies were held across the province. The workers are unionized members of the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux, which is affiliated with the CSN.

They have a five-day strike mandate, which they had given themselves at the end of last year.

Negotiations with the Quebec government were taking place on Tuesday and Wednesday, but progress was so slow.

“We have to be able to have some better conditions for the workers,” says Anne-Joelle Galipeau, Union president of CPE workers in Montreal and Laval.

“It’s so so great to have all the workers that are united and you’re screaming and the same voice to have the better condition we hope we’re gonna be a little heard.”

On Wednesday morning, at the start of the second consecutive day of negotiations, the union indicated that its strike action scheduled for Thursday would go ahead as planned.

The dispute mainly concerns compensation, workload, regional disparities and support for children with special needs.

“Staff shortages are hitting day-care centers hard. In recent days, CPE workers, parents and management alike have called on the government to do more to enhance the value of jobs in the sector,” wrote the union in a press release on Thursday morning. “While negotiations are an opportunity to improve working conditions, the government is moving at a snail’s pace.”

Quebec has already reached agreements in principle with other unionized CPEs who are represented by the Fédération des intervenantes en petite enfance (FIPEQ), affiliated with the CSQ, as well as with the Syndicat québécois des employé(e)s de service (SQEES) and the Syndicat des métallos, both affiliated with the FTQ. Two of these three agreements have even been ratified by their members.

“It’s only the government that doesn’t seem to understand the urgent need to do more to enhance the value of CPE jobs. Parents and childcare workers alike are calling on the government to act. We need to keep up the pressure, and that’s why we’re announcing our third strike day on Feb. 17,” said Stéphanie Vachon, CPE representative for the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN).

Alongside Galipeau, Annabelle Perron, a CPE daycare worker in Hochelaga said they were on the picket lines at 7 a.m. – even amid the -22 degree weather

“I think everybody here is ready to fight to ensure that it keeps being amazing and we keep working for kids,” Perron said. “It’s not going the way we would like it to go. We feel like it’s they’re not really receptive to what we ask and it’s really frustrating so we feel like we’re going to be here for more days unfortunately but we’re ready to fight as long as we need to be heard because we believe in what we’re asking for and it’s a necessity,”

The CSN represents over 80 per cent of unionized childcare workers. The strike affects all regions of Quebec, where the CSN is present in over 400 daycare centers.

7 CPEs in Abitibi-Témiscamingue
12 CPEs in Bas-Saint-Laurent
10 CPEs in Côte-Nord
22 CPEs in Centre-du-Québec and Mauricie
36 CPEs in Estrie
12 CPEs in Gaspésie and Îles-de-la-Madeleine
11 daycare centers in Lanaudière
25 daycare centers in the Laurentian
51 CPEs in Montérégie
112 CPEs in Montreal and Laval
23 CPEs in Outaouais
64 CPE in Québec and Chaudière-Appalaches
31 daycare centers in Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean

CityNews reached out to the office of the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, and in a statement, they say: “So far, we have reached agreements with all the unions that were ready to settle: FIPEQ-CSQ and two FTQ-affiliated unions. We are continuing discussions at the table with the last union, the FSSS-CSN, with whom we are in constant contact. It’s important to stress that the 17.4 per cent increase granted to the Common Front was based on work organization flexibility, which have a real impact on services. Moreover, during the last round of negotiations, the government granted historic increases of 18 per cent for qualified and specialized educators.”

Vice-President responsible for the private sector at FSSS-CSN, Lucie Longchamp says CPE workers have held this network at arms length for years, and see exhausted colleagues leaving their jobs. She urges the government to improve working conditions and wages to “reverse the trend.”

“At the end of the day that’s our priority to give everything the kids need that’s why we chose that job that’s why we’re doing what we’re doing it’s to make sure the kids have the best,” Perron said.

“I really feel like the kids are being forgotten and everything the government is putting in place right now and that’s what’s hurting me the most because we’re doing everything for them, and I feel like they’re not even a second in the thought of the government.”

-With files from Lia Lévesque, The Canadian Press