In Quebec, 65,000 elementary and high school teachers say they will launch an unlimited general strike at the end of the month as contract negotiations drag on.
The Fédération autonome de l’enseignement’s (FAE) 60 delegates made the decision after rejecting the latest offer from the provincial government. In September, the union voted for a general strike but didn’t set a date.
If the two sides fail to reach an agreement, the FAE says teachers will walk off the job on Nov. 23. It includes nine unions representing teachers working in several francophone Quebec school boards, including in Montreal, Laval and Quebec City.
“The choice of this date still leaves 20 days for negotiations to reach an agreement: if the Legault government is faithful to its public statements that it wants to settle negotiations before the holiday season, now is the time to prove it,” the FAE said in a statement Thursday.
Last weekend, Quebec Treasury Board Chair Sonia LeBel outlined a new offer for public sector workers. It includes salary increases of 10.3 per cent over five years, a one-time payment of $1,000 to each worker in the first year of the contract and more money for shift workers like nurses who work nights and weekends.
The FAE says it was hoping to receive an offer that would benefit teachers and fix problems plaguing the public school system, but that LeBel’s latest proposal is “more of an insult.”
While the FAE is negotiating independently, three other union federations representing more than 400,000 public sector workers will move forward with their own strike plans next Monday.
The federations — which describe themselves as the common front and are negotiating together — also say the new offer falls far short of what they were looking for. They will walk out for one day on Nov. 6, which could be followed by further action — including a full strike.
Meanwhile, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé, which represents around 80,000 nurses and other health-care professionals, said in social media posts last weekend that it is “disappointed and angry” with the new offer. The union, which is negotiating separately, plans to strike Nov. 8 and 9.
— with files from Global’s Max Kalinowicz and The Canadian Press
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