Quebec reaches agreement in principle with home daycare workers, ending strikes

A FIPEQ banner. (Karoline Boucher / The Canadian Press)

Quebec has reached an agreement in principle with unions representing thousands of home daycare workers who have been carrying out strike actions for weeks.

The agreement concerns only the family-run childcare sector, which has nearly 9,000 members. Negotiations are still ongoing for the early childhood centres (CPE) sector.

Members of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) affiliated Fédération des intervenantes en petite enfance (FIPEQ) had four walk-outs since mid-November, both in public and family daycares, where services were offered later and later each week. The union tabled its demands in September 2023, and negotiations only started in the spring.

"Big news today! An agreement in principle was reached at the negotiating table for the family education services sector. Concerted actions are suspended and educational services will go back to normal," the FIPEQ-CSQ announced in a Facebook post.

According to the office of the Minister responsible for Government Administration and Chair of the Conseil du trésor, Sonia LeBel, the agreement is for a period of five years (2023-2028) and covers more than 70 per cent of those responsible for educational childcare in a family setting.

It will make it possible to increase the number of spots in these daycares, make it easier to care for infants under 18 months of age, and improve the attraction and retention of staff, LeBel's office said in a news release. However, the details remain confidential until members vote on the content of the agreement.

"Family child care providers are committed to providing a quality service to children and to working with parents for the good of their children. Reaching a satisfactory agreement so that they can continue to operate their service is essential," said FIPEQ-CSQ president Anne-Marie Bellerose in a news release. 

"Our members have shown how proud they are to offer a service to families, and their exemplary mobilisation has been a true demonstration of unity. We would also like to thank parents for their support over the last few weeks."

FIPEQ-CSQ members held their last walk-out on Friday, which lasted several hours. Earlier in the day, they voted 86 per cent in favour of a new six-day strike mandate.

The FIPEQ-CSQ represents nearly 12,000 members across the province.  

Workers represented by the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ) affiliated Syndicat québécois des employés de service (SQEES) also adopted strike action mandates, including a potential unlimited strike.

The workers have been without a collective agreement for 21 months. The dispute is mainly about pay as the wage for a qualified entry-level educator is $21.60 an hour, while family-run daycares wanted bigger subsidies.

With files from The Canadian Press