Healthcare union members of the Public Sector Joint Front, comprising CSQ, CSN, APTS and FTQ, are planning a first day of strike on November 6th. As for the education sector, multiple union sources and school management groups confirm that no strike notices have been received or sent at this time.
The members of the Common Front do not want to deny or confirm any information or dates regarding a strike next November. “The common front is in the process of developing its overall strategy as well as for each network,” CSQ press spokeswoman Maude Messier told Le Devoir. The common front currently lies “in the various administrative aspects”.
Several sources told Le Devoir that an announcement would be made soon.
Strike notices for November 6th have already been sent to the healthcare sector. The CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal received them. The health service will be interrupted, said the Le Devoir health facility. “Due to the Health and Human Services Network employee strike on November 6th, changes to our service site schedules or slowdowns are expected at some of our facilities,” we wrote in an email. Basic care and services for the population (e.g. emergencies and intensive care) would be maintained, it said.
As for the education sector, three union sources, the Montreal Association of School Directors (AMDES) and the Quebec Federation of Educational Directors (FQDE), confirm to Le Devoir that no strike notices have been received or sent at this time. However, they could be later in the day. The Affluents School Service Center in the Lanaudière region also says it has not received strike notice for November 6th. Unions have seven business days to send notice before declaring a strike.
Union sources told Le Devoir that strike notices were first sent out in the health sector because of the need to maintain essential services, which required more administrative arrangements.
95% of the members of the Common Front adopted a strike mandate that called for strike “sequences,” namely strike days, isolated or grouped, before an indefinite strike occurred.
New offer planned for Sunday
Quebec will make a new offer to civil servants next Sunday, hoping to unfreeze months of negotiations. This was announced by the President of the Ministry of Finance, Sonia LeBel Tuesday in a message onformerly called Twitter.
Ms Lebel was asked to respond to the November 6th strike and reiterated that this decision “is up to the unions”. “It’s a bargaining chip,” she said. What I have wanted since the beginning of these negotiations and what motivates me is to find a solution as quickly as possible and to be satisfied with an improvement in services for the population. That’s why we attach great importance to work organization. »
When the government offer is presented on Sunday, the minister will announce what will happen to the bonuses paid to thousands of public servants. Some of these bonuses were scheduled to end on March 31st and were extended until September 30th and then October 15th.
The Interprofessional Health Federation of Quebec (FIQ), which is not part of the common front, is holding an electronic vote among its 80,000 members this Wednesday until 8 p.m. on a strike mandate of up to an indefinite general strike.
For their part, the unions affiliated to the Autonomous Education Federation (FAE) – which are also not part of the common front – have adopted an indefinite strike mandate, which does not provide for strike days, unlike the strike days before the start of the indefinite common front.
The FAE, which represents tens of thousands of teachers in several Quebec regions including Montreal, Laval and Quebec, has not yet set a date for the start of its strike, one of its unions told Le Devoir. One of its committees is scheduled to meet on November 2nd to take stock of the situation.
A surprise visit from the Prime Minister
To watch in the video