Daycare strikes hit Montreal

MONTREAL – Many parents in the Montreal area were forced to make alternate arrangements for their children Thursday morning as home daycare workers in Quebec continued with a series of rotating half-day strikes.

The strkes have been held in various sections of the province this week, and on Thursday it was Montreal, Laval and the South Shore that were affected.

An estimated 400 home daycare operators protested in front of Family Minister Yolande James’s Montreal offices while representatives from the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) continued to meet with the province in an attempt to hammer out an agreement.

“When home daycare operators do comparable work to that done by regular daycare centres, they have an equal right to comparable pay,” said Louise Chabot, CSQ vice-president. “Our studies indicate that home daycare operators work 50 hours a week in the presence of children, plus about another dozen hours a week for meal preparation, cleaning and maintenance, planning for educational activities and administrative tasks.”

Here’s a primer on the dispute so far:

Who is involved? About 15,000 home daycare centres operating across the province, most taking care of between six and eight children each.

These operators are considered self-employed. There are a total 91,000 children in such family daycare centres across Quebec, according to government figures.

When did this all begin? The dispute dates back to 2003, when the government of Premier Jean Charest adopted, using closure, a bill barring these operators from unionizing. Quebec Superior Court declared this law unconstitutional in 2008. The province did not contest further, and in June 2009, the Quebec National Assembly adopted a new law, Bill 51, allowing the daycare operators to unionize.

What do the daycare operators want? Family daycare operators get $7 a day per child from the parents. They receive about an additional $19 daily, per child, from the government Рan amount the Centrale des syndicats du Qu̩bec (CSQ) wants raised to $31.82 a day, to cover salaries, vacations, statutory holidays and illness coverage. For income-tax purposes, operators can also deduct purchases of supplies, as well as operating costs.

What are the most recent developments?

February 2010: Negotiations begin between the province and the newly-unionized daycare operators.

Oct. 1, 2010: The CSQ, representing about 12,800 of the operators, makes its opening demands.

Oct. 2, 2010: The CSQ launches a pressure-tactic campaign, including half-day strikes and demonstrations.

Wednesday: About 400 orange-clad family daycare operators demonstrate outside the Quebec City office of Family Minister Yolande James.

Now what? Negotiations are ongoing. The government has yet to make counter offers.