Quebec reaches tentative deals on working conditions with all common front labour unions

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The Quebec government has reached tentative agreements on working conditions with all the unions that are part of a labour alliance representing about 420,000 public sector workers.

The last deal was reached overnight Tuesday with a union representing around 1,000 professional workers at several school boards near Montreal.

Quebec now has tentative dealswith all theunions that make upthe common front theFTQ, theCSN, theAPTS and theCSQwhich launched a series of strikes starting in November that shut down schools and delayed surgeries.

These deals are tentative because they have been reached with the negotiating committees but have not yet been presented to the unions' delegates. Once those delegates have approvedthe agreement, it becomes an agreement in principle, after which it is presented to the entire membership of the unions, where, if approved, it becomes a full agreement.

Only one union so far, which represents12,500 education professionals, has reachedan agreement in principle. The Fdration des professionnelles et professionnels de l'ducation du Quebec(FPPE), a CSQ-affiliated union, said Wednesday its elected leadership unanimously approved a tentative agreement reached on Dec. 23.

"We think the agreement in principle reached today contains elements that will significantly improve the working conditions of professional staff for several years," union president Jacques Landry said in a news release.

But he cautioned that the deal won't be presented to members for final approval until salaries are settled, adding that without a complete agreement, the common front unions will walkout in early 2024.

None of the agreements reached so farinclude salaries and benefits, which are still being discussed at the common front'scentral bargaining table.

Negotiationsresumed Tuesday after a series of breakthroughs over the weekend and a short pause for Christmas. On Saturday and Sunday, Quebec announced a flurry of tentative deals with several labour groups belonging to the common front, including unions representing teachers, school support staff and health-care system employees.

The FTQ and the CSN declined to comment Wednesday on the state of salary negotiations or what led to the wave of tentative agreements on working conditions.

'Light at the end of the tunnel'

Marc Ranger,the former Quebec director for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), says though the negotiations have reached a critical point, the issue of salaries still renders them fragile.

"The government needs to decide what kind of wages will be sufficient to convince the unions [so]they can go to their members," he said.

"This is the first time in all this year of bargaining that we see the light at the end of the tunnel."

Ranger believes it's possible to avoid an unlimitedstrike in 2024, but says ultimately, the outcome is in PremierFranois Legault'shands.

He also says the current round of negotiations are a "once in a lifetime" opportunity for union leaders to help improve the public sector.

"We're at a critical point where we're not able to hire any more young [people] to come into the public service because the salaries [are] not there," said Ranger.

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Separate unions outside of the common front representing around 66,000 teachers and 80,000 health-care workers were not among the groups that reached a tentative deal with the government before Christmas.

The Fdration autonome de l'enseignement (FAE) andFdration interprofessionnelle de la sant du Qubec(FIQ) are negotiating independently with the government.

The FAE, a teachers'union, has been on an unlimited strike since Nov. 23, closing about 800 schools for four weeks before the holiday break, including at the province's largest school board in Montreal.

The union said last week it was prepared to enter a more intense phase of negotiations in hopes of reaching an agreement.