MONTREAL -- Quebec public sector unions say they are united in demanding more from the government.

The FTQ "is not yet there" in terms of mobilization and pressure tactics in the public sector, but "it will come" because its members will ask for it, said Daniel Boyer, president of the province's largest labour union.

The Quebec government's offers to half a million state employees, presented in mid-December, are downright "contemptuous,'' said Boyer. "These offers are seven per cent over five years, against a backdrop of budget surpluses."

The president of the FTQ and its new secretary-general, Denis Bolduc, met the press on Tuesday for a post-holiday update.

The FTQ will begin its negotiations with Quebec in the coming days and will then assess the degree of openness of government negotiators, but Boyer already expects to have to exert leverage.

The Quebec government has offered a seven per cent increase over seven years--that amount is unacceptable, union members have said.

"It used to be a pride to become a teacher, and now you ask a student at CEGEP saying 'do you want to become a teacher?' and they look at you going 'with these conditions, no' so we have to work on this," said Anne Dionne, vice-president of the CSQ union.

The FTQ represents thousands of health-services employees, among others - workers for whom the Legault government has said it is ready to be more generous since there is currently a shortage of these workers. In the public sector, they receive $20.55 at the bottom of the salary scale and $22.35 at the top of the scale.

The average salary of FTQ union members in the public sector is $36,000.

Government workers have generous pensions, according to the Canadian taxpayers federation.

"If you look at the data they are paid more than the market rate, in a lot of cases and they have all of those golden benefits that are at the expense of regular tax payers like you and I that work in the private sector," said Renaud Brossard, Quebec director of the organization.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2020.

With files from Emily Campbell of CTV News Montreal.