MONTREAL -- Many early childhood centres in Quebe are seeing a first day of strike action on Friday, as the province tries to set new bargaining dates.
Workers affiliated with the CSN union walked off the job today. It's the first of 10 planned days of strike by the CSN, though the dates of the other nine haven't been announced.
Negotiations to renew collective agreements in early childhood centres involve several union organizations, however: the CSN, the CSQ and the FTQ.
That makes the schedule of daycare strikes more complicated. The unions affiliated with the CSQ have come out in favour of a six-day strike mandate, but they have not yet announced when exactly they will begin to use it.
Their federation says it wants to try to give negotiations every possible chance.
As for the members of the Quebec Service Employees Union, affiliated with the FTQ, they haven't yet voted on a strike mandate but will do so soon.
On Tuesday, the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, met with the presidents of the central unions to ask them to intensify the negotiations.
Additional bargaining dates have since been planned, said one of the organizations involved.
The last government offers were tabled in July, and the parties hope to be able to settle by the end of the year.
The issues at the heart of the dispute are salaries and support workers, those who help educators, such as maintenance workers, special educators and others.
The unions are demanding a catch-up in salary, especially since there is a shortage of educators. Currently, the salary for a qualified educator is $19 per hour at entry level and $25 per hour at the 10th and highest seniority level.
Unions also have demands over the means provided to them to take care of children with special needs.
This report was first published in French by The Canadian Press on Sept. 24, 2021.
