MONTREAL–The man who holds the purse strings in Quebec insists the province and its public sector workers are making progress at the negotiating table.
Treasury Board president Martin Coiteux tells Global News he doesn’t understand why the unions are staging a week of rotating strikes while negotiations are progressing.
He said they’ve made headway on a number of issues in recent weeks, including salaries, although he did not give exact figures on how far apart the two sides remain.
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Quebec’s unions have asked for 13.5% increases over three years.
Martin Coiteux, who is also the MNA for Nelligan, says if the government agreed to that initial offer, it would add up to more than $10 billion in increases.
He said that would eat up any future investments on health and education for years to come.
Coiteux takes exception to the unions calling the Liberal government policies austerity measures.
“Austerity is when governments are forced to cut salaries and cut spending like what we’re seeing in Greece and Portugal, but that is not what we are doing here,” he said.
“We are continuing to invest in salaries, and in education and health spending, just at a lower rate.”
It is not austerity, it is responsible management to put our house in order, so that we don’t end up in a situation of austerity, Coiteux said.
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