The common front of four Quebec public sector union organizations will meet with their respective bodies on Tuesday -- an important step in taking stock of progress in negotiating collective agreements and deciding on the continuation of the strike.
The CSN, CSQ, APTS and FTQ will explain their decisions publicly on Wednesday morning.
The common front already has a mandate for an indefinite general strike, adopted by 95 per cent, but it is unclear if it will announce the date for an indefinite strike in January.
"It all depends on the situation, member mobilization and the state of negotiations," the group insisted on Monday. For now, all doors remain open as negotiations with the Quebec government have intensified.
The common front had already stated that its seven-day strike sequence, from Dec . 8 to 14, would be the last before unlimited strike action. It remains to be seen whether recent developments in the negotiations will change their approach.
The common front still hopes to settle before the end of the year or even before the holidays. It is prepared to negotiate between Christmas and New Year's Day, if necessary.
The common front also denies having brought a counter-proposal to the table. However, it admits to having made an "overture" and "discussions" in the face of five-year collective agreements -- as proposed by the Quebec government since December 2022 rather than three-year ones, which was the group's initial demand.
It insists on protecting the purchasing power of its 420,000 members. From the outset, its demands were based on the Consumer Price Index. It is therefore asking for CPI plus 2 per cent increase for the first year, CPI plus 3 per cent for the second year and CPI plus 4 per cent for the third year.
At the four meetings on Tuesday, the common front will also discuss negotiations at the sectoral tables, i.e., working conditions such as work time arrangements and workload. For teachers, this means proposed measures to lighten class composition. For the health-care sector, it means reimbursing professional dues and overtime, for example.
A few days ago, Premier François Legault stated that negotiations were not going as well in the health sector as in education, so he did not foresee a settlement before January for the health sector.
The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ) is also due to report on its negotiations and strike mandate on Wednesday.
As for the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE), it is the only organization still on strike. Its 66,000 primary and secondary teacher members have been on strike since Nov. 23.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 18, 2023.
