Quebec union wants conciliation, cites impasse in daycare negotiations
Better compensation, working conditions needed to address staff shortages, union says
The union representing 400 publicly-funded daycares in Quebec, known as CPEs, and some 13,000 workers has filed a request for conciliation.
In a news release Friday, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) said it was opting for conciliation to resolve an impasse in negotiations.
The CSN said it's hoping to reach an agreement that will lead to improved working conditions and compensation, and as a result, alleviate staffing shortages in the daycare network.
Childhood educators in the province have taken part in 13 strike days since January, but the union has held off on launching an unlimited general strike despite having the mandate to do so.
"Our thirteen days of strikes have allowed us to make progress at the bargaining table, but it is clear that the government refuses to take active action to curb the staff shortage," wrote FSSS-CSN union representative Stéphanie Vachon in a news release.
Negotiations with the provincial government to renew collective agreements have been ongoing for several months. The Treasury Board submitted offers to all unions representing daycare workers in May 2024 and settled with the CSQ and FTQ unions in December.
The CSN is the largest union, representing almost 80 per cent of CPE employees in the province.
The government has offered CSN childhood educators a 17.4 per cent increase in salary over five years, and is holding firm on that number, but the union believes there are other ways to address what is says are salary inequities within the public sector.
"We are therefore in solution mode with this request for conciliation. We absolutely must improve what is on the table to put more money in the pockets of workers," added Vachon in the press release.
CBC News has reached out to the Treasury Board for comment, but has yet to hear back.
Written by Annabelle Olivier