MONTREAL -- Quebec's daycare strike is spreading, as another union steps into the movement.
On Monday and Tuesday, childcare workers from the FTQ-affiliated Syndicat québécois des employés de service (SQEES) will hold their first two days of strike action in several regions of Quebec. Their mandate is for a 10-day strike.
Other child care workers from CSN and CSQ affiliated unions were on strike last week.
Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel and Families Mathieu Lacombe have announced that they are ready to increase salaries for childcare workers in CPEs.
Negotiations between the SQEES and the Quebec government are scheduled for Thursday, said union president Sylvie Nelson in an interview Monday.
She hopes that the government's offer will be improved and that Quebec will not forget that the CPEs do not only employ educators, but also other workers, in the kitchen, disinfection, administration. She cited the case of a cook among her members who, after 25 years of service, is being paid $20.16 an hour.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 18, 2021.
