Quebec and Lévis teachers vote for indefinite general strike

Discoverers and Navigators decide with a very strong majority in favor of a walkout that could lead to an indefinite general strike after the teachers of two school service centers in Quebec.

The results of the poll were made public Monday evening: Deux-Rives Education Union (SEDR) teachers voted 94% in favor of a strike that could go as far as a strike. Public Unlimited.

Its chairman, Martin Hoke, was surprised by the massive support. “We really feel a sense of excitement that this is a negotiation of negotiations. We’re at an important point,” he says.

Many members say they will have to walk away from teaching if there is no significant improvement in their working conditions during this round of talks.

Among teachers’ demands, we find that their workload and the composition of their class are at the top of the list. “In elementary school, classes with 17 intervention programs for 23 students make no sense,” says Mr. Hoke.

Teachers who believe they don’t have to strike are determined to lead this “struggle” aimed at “maximizing the success of all students,” says SEDR’s president.

Other strike votes in Quebec

In mid-September, teachers of the Premiers-Seigneuries and Capitole school service centers represented by the Quebec Regional Education Union also announced their support for an indefinite general strike.

The teachers of the Deux-Rives Education Union are affiliated with the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), part of the General Front, which is currently negotiating with the Legault government to renew their collective agreement.

Central union members of the General Front are currently consulting their membership on pressure tactics to adopt as part of this round of negotiations.

In the Quebec region, other employees of the education network have also announced their support for the strike in recent days, such as the support of the professors’ union of the Cégep de Sainte-Foy and the staff union of the First Lords.