Quebec teachers' union executives approve government proposal

Executives of two Quebec teachers' unionsapproved a governmentproposalon working conditionsFriday.

The Fdration des syndicats de l'Enseignement (FSE-CSQ) represents 95,000 teachers across the province while the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT) speaks for over 8,000 teachers from English-language school boards.Both groups are part of the coalition of public sector unions known as the common front.

Salaries and pension plans are still being negotiated at a separate bargaining table, according to Jose Scalabrini, president of the FSE-CSQ.

Scalabrini said that they are "making progress" in negotiations to improve teachers' main priorities: class composition, workload reduction and remuneration.

She said in a video posted online Friday night that the union will present the proposed deal to its members after the holidays. Before details of the agreement are made public, teachers represented by the unions will need to review the deal and vote on it.

Steven Le Sueur, president of QPAT, says the proposed deal is a step in the right direction.

"A lot of people were a little anxious going into the holidays, not having a deal," he said. "But I think people are going to enjoy their holidays."

Holding anunlimited strike in January is "still a possibility if things go wrong" at the bargaining table, he added.

Quebec teachers may begin 2024 on picket lines

10 months ago

Duration 1:55

A tentative agreement on working conditions between the Quebec government and one teachers union isn't enough to bring students and teachers back to classrooms in 2024 as wage negotiations have not progressed.

The office of Quebec's Treasury Board president said in a statement Friday that the measures in the proposed deal will make it possible to offer better services to students and improve teachers' workload.

The Fdration autonome de l'enseignement (FAE) was at the bargaining table overnight and is continuing talkswith the Quebec government,according to Radio-Canada sources.

Mlanie Hubert, FAE president, said Friday morning that the government had restricted the issues it's willing to discuss, which was stalling talks.