Montreal and Laval daycare workers adopt a strike mandate

MONTREAL -

The daily lives of parents with young children could be turned upside down this fall in the Montreal and Laval regions, as workers at the Centres de la petite enfance (CPE) have given themselves a strike mandate.

In a press release issued Wednesday evening, the CSN-affiliated Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN) announced that their 2,500 CPE members have given their union a ten-day strike mandate that will be used "at the appropriate time, likely in the coming weeks."

According to the FSSS-CSN, the strike mandate was given "by a strong majority," but the exact numbers were not disclosed.

The day before, the union confirmed that a 10-day strike mandate had been voted for Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec. For Quebec City and Chaudière-Appalaches, the measure had been announced earlier this month.

Eventually, 11,000 members could be given a strike mandate. The FSSS-CSN is currently conducting a tour to obtain a strike mandate for all regions of Quebec.

Quebec's child care workers have been without a work contract for 18 months. During their negotiations with the government, they are demanding, among other things, a fair wage increase for all job titles. The educators also want to obtain the means to provide better services to children, including those with special needs.

--This report was first published in French by the Canadian Press on Sept. 15, 2021