Public daycare workers at 57 centres in Montreal and Laval are on strike Wednesday morning, leaving some parents scrambling for childcare alternatives.
After months of failed talks, the CSN-affiliated workers voted overwhelmingly in favour of a general, unlimited strike mandate last month.
READ MORE: Montreal and Laval daycare workers vote for strike mandate as negotiations continue to stall
“It will be for the next few days if they don’t make a major change,” said union negotiator Tania Valdez.
The employers’ association requested workers not to walk off the job on Wednesday, since it made an offer to the union this week and is awaiting a response.
“Many concessions were made,” said spokesperson Chantal Bellavance.
The union representing daycare workers said the strike would go ahead since there hasn’t been “significant progress” at the bargaining table.
READ MORE: 6,000 Montreal, Laval children affected by daycare strike
“We’re very far away from each other,” Valdez told Global News.
“They don’t want to budge, they’re going to go back on things we already have in this agreement.”
The daycare workers’ main sticking points include working conditions, scheduling work hours, call-back lists and seniority.
— with files from The Canadian Press