Quebec school support staff unions vote in favour of strike actions

Members of Quebec unions affiliated with the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ) voted Thursday in favour of work stoppages that could go as far as an unlimited general strike.

School support staff account for 40 per cent of people working in Quebec schools.

Federation president Éric Pronovost explains that, after almost a year of negotiations, the members want to send a strong message.

He criticized Quebec's Minister of Education, Bernard Drainville, for not listening to the demands of school support staff.

The unions point to staff shortages caused by a lack of full-time positions, broken schedules and problems with work-life balance that are currently hampering staff retention.

The federation says it will monitor the votes of other unions before determining its next course of action.

Meanwhile, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is eyeing offers tabled this week by the negotiating committees of the French-language school service centres, the English-language school boards and colleges vying to renew their collective agreements for school support and college staff.

CUPE spokesperson Marie-Claude Arbour deplores a lack of attempts to resolve the labour shortage or attract staff to the education and higher education networks.

Treasury Board Chair Sonia Lebel had asked both sides to substantially reduce the number of demands to prioritize the most important items and increase the chances of reaching an agreement.

The next round of general meetings is due to conclude this Friday.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 13, 2023.