(Montreal) Members of Quebec unions affiliated with the Fédération du Personnel de Support Scholar (FPSS-CSQ) voted in favor of possible work stoppages that could extend to an indefinite general strike during general meetings on Thursday.
School support staff represent 40% of the workforce in Quebec schools.
The president of the federation, Eric Pronovost, explains that after almost a year of negotiations, the members wanted to send a strong signal. Mr. Pronovost criticizes Education Minister Bernard Trinville for not listening to the demands of school support staff.
Unions report staffing shortage problems, particularly due to a lack of full-time positions, broken schedules and problems with family-work balance. Eric Pronovost says these issues are currently detrimental to employee retention.
The Federation shall follow the outcome of the votes of the other member unions of the General Front before indicating the continuation of its operation.
Meanwhile, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is giving a chilly reception to offers submitted this week by employers’ negotiating teams representing French-language school service centres, English-language school boards and colleges. School and College Support Staff.
CUPE spokeswoman Marie-Claude Arbor lamented that these offers did nothing to address labor shortages or encourage the recruitment of workers into education and higher education.
As for Treasury Board President Sonia Lebel’s request to significantly reduce the number of demands from each side and prioritize the most important ones, the union side promises to speed up the chances of reaching an agreement. Present his priority requests.
The tour of public meetings of union members should end this Friday. The General Front will then review the situation.
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