1st FAE teachers' union votes in favour of contract deal with Quebec

One of the nine teachers' unions that make up the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE) announced early Thursday that more than half of its members had voted to accept a contract deal reached with the Quebec government. 

The Syndicat de l'enseignement de la Pointe-de-l'Île (SEPÎ), which represents some 4,400 teachers in Montreal's east end, voted 58.5 per cent in favour of the proposed collective agreement during a virtual general assembly Wednesday. 

The agreement was ratified, despite the SEPΠbeing one of three unions whose leaders advised their members to reject the deal earlier in the day.

For the agreement in principle to be adopted, five of the nine FAE-affiliated unions must accept it. Those five unions must also make up the majority of the FAE's 66,500 members, according to the principle of a double majority. 

The final decision will be announced on Feb. 7.

The leaders of the Syndicat des enseignants de la Haute-Yamaska (SEHY) in Granby, which represents 2,000 members and the Syndicat de l'enseignement de la région de Laval (SERL), which represents more than 6,300 teachers, have encouraged their members to vote against the deal. 

On Thursday morning, more than 5,200 members of the Syndicat de l'enseignement des Basses-Laurentides (SEBL) were given the same recommendation. 

Meanwhile, two other FAE-affiliated unions, the Syndicat de l'enseignement de l'Outaouais and the Syndicat de l'enseignement de l'ouest de Montréal (SEOM), have advised their members to accept the agreement.

The eight remaining unions are expected to vote in the coming days. 

The agreement in principle came after 22 days of strike action, which closed about 800 schools and kept 368,000 students home. Some 40 per cent of teachers in the province's school system are represented by the FAE.