QUEBEC – Education Minister Michelle Courchesne said Friday a planned one-day strike that would affect 274,000 students at Montreal’s three French school boards is “premature.”
Courchesne urged the teachers to get back to the bargaining table for some serious talks, rather than walking out next Tuesday.
The 32,000 teachers belong to the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement.
Courchesne noted that the Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement has settled with the government, suggesting that if the FAE does not agree to terms its members could be left behind.
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“The FSE will implement next September the agreement we have reached,” she said.
“If the FAE does not reach an agreement, the teachers in the whole Greater Montreal region will lose precious time to improve their conditions and also to improve the way they work.”
Courchesne said a mediator working with both sides suggested the FAE is stalling.
“Definitely the negotiations are too slow with the FAE,” the minister said.
“I want to reiterate to all the teachers in the Montreal region our willingness to reach a win-win, negotiated agreement,”
Courchesne said the government shares the teachers’ concerns about finding new ways to help children in difficulty.
“The best way to find solutions to the issues, that are a real concern to them and to us, is to negotiate and to come back to the table and maybe intensify and be a little more active.
kdougherty@thegazette.canwest.com
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