Quebec labour strikes: Progress with one teachers union, deadlock with another
Some elements of this story have changed. Click here to read the latest update.
There is some hope of progress in one of the several labour disputes rattling Quebec's public service as a union representing 95,000 teachers said Friday it had reached a partial agreement with the government.
Fédération des syndicats de l'enseignement, or FSE, reported in a social media post that it had agreed to one proposal after an overnight negotiating session. The union didn't specify the terms of the offer but said it would present details to its council later in the day.
What is clear is that the proposal doesn't include an agreement on teacher salaries. That issue and other points of contention are still the subject of the FSE's joint negotiations with other labour groups under a partnership known as the common front. The broad alliance of public sector unions — representing hundreds of thousands of workers — has launched several multi-day strikes over the last two months and threatened an unlimited walkout in early 2024 in the absence of a deal.
Meanwhile, a separate union representing 66,000 teachers says it will continue its unlimited strike in the new year amid a deadlock in negotiations with Quebec. The strike by the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement, or FAE, has kept around 800 schools closed for more than four weeks.
In a video update Friday, FAE president Mélanie Hubert said disagreements about the scope of negotiations were impeding progress. The FSE agreement, she said, "doesn't change our objectives or the demands we carry."
Hundreds of FAE members and their supporters took to the streets of downtown Montreal on Friday to protest in front of the local office of Quebec Premier François Legault. Blowing horns and yelling chants, they hoped to pressure the government to listen to teachers.
At the heart of the FAE's demands are more resources to support students who require additional attention and to relieve teachers who say they are overstretched.
Within the crowd on Friday was Montreal-area elementary school teacher Rosalie Gaudreault, who said she has had a class of 23 students in which 17 needed extra help.
"We have kindergarten children arriving from abroad .... Some children don't speak French, some aren't potty-trained, some have never seen a book in their lives. We have a lot of needs," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 22, 2023.
— With files from Stéphane Blais in Montreal.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Some structural damage' from wildfire near Fort Nelson, B.C., mayor confirms
More than one home has been damaged or lost due to a massive wildfire outside of the B.C. community of Fort Nelson, the mayor confirmed Wednesday.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver says he got a cellphone ticket for using his points app in the drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
B.C. YouTuber ordered to pay $350K for 'relentless' online defamation campaign
An 'unrepentant' YouTuber has been ordered to pay $350,000 in damages as compensation for a 'relentless' campaign of defamation waged online against a business owner and his company, the B.C. Supreme Court has ruled.
Chief says grave search at B.C. residential school brings things 'full circle'
Chief Robert Michell says relief isn't the right word to describe his reaction as the search begins for unmarked graves at the site of a former residential school he attended in northern British Columbia.
'Endless Shrimp' just one misstep for Red Lobster as it eyes bankruptcy protection
While it's unclear what these closures might mean for the 27 restaurants in Canada, Red Lobster is expected to file for bankruptcy protection in the U.S. this month.
B.C. man shot sex worker in the back during drug-fuelled birthday, court hears
A man from B.C.'s Lower Mainland has been sentenced to four years behind bars after shooting a sex worker in the back during a drug-fuelled 43rd birthday.
'Inhumane conditions': 68 dogs pulled from Winnipeg home
Nearly six dozen dogs were seized from a home Wednesday morning by the Winnipeg Humane Society. It is the largest known seizure of animals in the city’s history.
Ontario's 'Crypto King' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Of the $40-million Aiden Pleterski was handed over two years, documents show he invested just over one per cent and instead spent $15.9 million on "his personal lifestyle." The 25-year-old Oshawa, Ont. man was arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering on Tuesday.
Driver said he smoked pot oil, took medication before Florida crash that killed 8 Mexican workers
A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring dozens more, according to an arrest report unsealed Wednesday.