More daycare workers adopt strike mandate

Children's backpacks and shoes are seen at an Early Learning daycare, in Langley, B.C., on May 29, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Daycare workers unionized with the CSN adopted a mandate to strike for up to five days following the CSQ.

The members of the CSN-affiliated Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS) voted 96 per cent in favour of such a mandate.

The strike mandate will adapt to the context of the negotiations.

“Its shape could be diverse. It could be later openings, it could be earlier closures; it could be full days” up to five days, explained Lucie Longchamp, vice-president of the FSSS.

Parents will be notified at least 10 days in advance to find an alternative solution.

Pressure tactics will depend on the pace and progress at the bargaining table, said Longchamp. But she reports little progress after 13 negotiating sessions with the Ministère de la Famille and the Conseil du trésor.

Quebec tabled its offers in April to unionized childcare workers.

“There's been no progress. We're stalling on everything, everything, everything,” said the union leader.

Pay is the main point of contention. Since family daycare providers are self-employed, they are not paid an hourly wage, like workers in childcare centres, for example. Instead, they receive a subsidy from the Ministère de la Famille, which takes into account their remuneration, the grocery basket and the expenses inherent in maintaining the childcare service in their home.

Unless there is progress in negotiations, the first pressure tactics could come into play as early as November, said Longchamp.

The FSSS represents 3,000 family daycare providers. The CSQ represents 9,000, and its managers have also adopted a pressure tactics mandate that can extend to a one-day strike.

The two unions each represent thousands of workers in childcare centres. 

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 16, 2024.