Quebec teachers' union ready to work all weekend, but have little hope of strike ending

Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE) president Mélanie Hubert addressed her members in a Facebook video on Friday evening, at around 9 p.m., to advise them that work is continuing in the hope of reaching an agreement with the government on the renewal of the collective agreements.

"Don't worry, negotiations will continue over the weekend. It is the priority of the FEA to reach a satisfactory agreement," said Hubert on the sidelines of a meeting between the Executive Committee and the FAE negotiating committee.

The 66,000 primary and secondary teachers who are members of the FAE have been on an unlimited general strike since 23 November.

In recent days, there has been a lot of confusion about the state of play. On Wednesday, Premier François Legault said he was confident that children would be able to return to school as early as Monday, which was described as unrealistic by the FAE president.

In her message on Friday evening, Hubert reiterated that "things are not progressing at the desired pace" but pointed out that there had been negotiation meetings throughout the week and that this work would continue.

"We will be available throughout the weekend to move things forward, and the employers have also assured us of their availability for the next two days. What remains to be done is to take the work forward on our own and to arrange meetings so that we can talk again," she added. "In the meantime, have a nice weekend. We'll let the negotiations take their course. Try to get some rest and we'll see you on the picket lines on Monday."

• LISTEN on CJAD 800 Radio: Will teachers actually be back in Quebec classrooms on Monday

OTHER PUBLIC SECTOR REGIONS

The inter-union Common Front will also be taking stock next week of the negotiations with the Quebec government and the next steps for its members, including whether it will exercise its unlimited general strike mandate.

The 420,000 workers in the education and health networks represented by the Common Front, made up of the CSN, CSQ, FTQ and APTS, concluded their third strike sequence on Thursday.

FIQ COUNTER-PROPOSAL

For its part, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ), which represents 80,000 nurses, nursing assistants and other care professionals, was hoping for a response from the government on Thursday to a proposal it had submitted the day before on working conditions.

The FIQ will also be taking stock of negotiations next week, following three rounds of strikes by its members.

Both Legault and Treasury Board president Sonia LeBel have described negotiations with the FIQ as very difficult.

Legault even went so far as to say that a solution could not be expected before Christmas: "I think it will be better in January," he said earlier this week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 16, 2023.