Education contracts at the expense of the “mostly deficit” budget

According to François Legault, the new collective agreements will be a “big step” to improve the working conditions of employees in the education sector. However, these advances will not be made at zero cost, declared the Prime Minister who wanted to warn Quebecers: the next budget will be “mostly in deficit”. However, he made it clear that the deficit would not lead to austerity measures but postpone the achievement of a balanced budget.

“This choice we have made to invest heavily in public services will have financial consequences,” said Mr. Legault underlined at a press conference on Sunday. He says he accepts this choice because “Education is the best personal investment, but also the best collective investment we can make.”

The Prime Minister was tight-lipped on details about the scale of the impending deficit, saying details would be revealed in the next budget due next month. At the end of January, Mr. Legault spoke about the effect of the larger-than-expected increase in public sector salaries in the budget and the aim to restore budget balance in the 2027-2028 fiscal year.

“There is no question of cutting any services, and there is no question of increasing taxes,” said Mr. Legault said, “Questioning the timeline for finding a balanced budget”. The prime minister said he was comfortable with the possibility, indicating it was a “responsible” choice under the circumstances.

Salary increase and new permanent posts

The Prime Minister, along with Treasury Board Chair Sonia Lebel and Education Minister Bernard Trinville, presented details of the agreements reached with teachers.

At the end of the collective agreement, over five years, salaries for teachers will range from $65,000 to $109,000 per year. The increments obtained vary from 18% to 27% depending on the levels. Salary increases are also planned for school psychologists and special education technicians.

The government has promised to create 5,000 teaching posts and 4,000 full-time classroom assistant posts. Daycare educators will receive classroom aide status and see their hours increase from 20 to 35 hours per week; Their salaries will increase from $27,000 to $56,000. So there will be staff to support teachers in more than 14,000 elementary classes, or nearly half of the classes in the province, Minister Trinville said.

“Amounts advanced [dans ces ententes] This flexibility is gained in return,” explained Sonia Lebel. While he acknowledges the talks “won't solve everything”, he believes “a balance has been struck that allows us to improve services for students”.

“Psychodrama” ending

In order to put an end to the “psychodrama” that happens before the start of the academic year when classes are held without a teacher, the practice of assigning teachers to a class has been introduced. Fast forward to August 8. Thus the government can identify needs early and try to satisfy them. It said, “We can't [pourvoir] All levels, for a simple reason [qu’on] There is a shortage of teachers,” said Bernard Trinville.

The new collective agreements will allow coaches to substitute work, give teachers the opportunity to do some work remotely and free them from supervising sabbaticals so they can devote themselves to supporting students.

The negotiated measures provide financial incentives for teachers who work overtime on a voluntary basis, as well as support and mentoring from retired teachers to young teachers.

Give the runner a chance

“I sincerely hope that this conference will help attract new talent to the academic professions,” believes Bernard Trinville.

How to explain the reluctance of certain teachers to support the contracts, with four of the nine unions affiliated to the Autonomous Education Federation voting against, and the Federation of Teachers' Unions giving 60% support? According to the Education Minister, this is due to expectations that were too high.

“We will give teachers and school staff an opportunity to implement this agreement in their daily lives,” declared Bernard Trainville. “Over time, I think some of this discontent will be resolved, because people will really enjoy the improvements that we have negotiated with the unions. »

Unions condemn Legault's comments

Mr. Invited to comment on Legault's statements, Josie Scalabrini, president of the Confederation of Education Unions, lamented that the government was “trying to make it ugly”. [d’un déficit] For education and health workers. Some trade unions are still not commenting on money matters, he notes.

M^me Scalabrini now wants the government to reach out to the unions and “find solutions for the whole system”, particularly in relation to “three-speed” schools.

It's a similar story for Melanie Hubert, president of the Autonomous Education Alliance. “I'm not happy to put the burden of the deficit on the education workforce by saying this talk is expensive,” he said, recalling the sacrifice of thousands of teachers who went on strike and went without pay for weeks. .

While she acknowledged the progress made on agreements, among other things related to class structure and teleworking, Ms.^me “There's still a lot of work to do,” says Hubert, and the education minister would like to show more openness to discussing the future of the school system.

Health negotiations continue

In early February, Quebec's Interprofessional Health Federation (FIQ), which represents 80,000 nurses, practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists, said it was “very far” from an agreement in principle with Quebec.

The flexibility requested by Quebec was a key point of discussion. The FIQ argued that the government wanted to impose compulsory movement of some employees from one workplace to another, while the government confirmed that these movements would be carried out on a voluntary basis.

In a press release issued on Sunday, the FIQ said it was “rejected by the government's most recent proposals, [qui] It seems to link the increase in salaries with the decrease in the quality of care for people. According to the union's president, Julie Bouchard, “It's a shame to frame the issues like this.

As negotiations continue, Sonya LeBelle thinks “it can be settled very quickly.” “We will have the same objective with FIQ [que celui] We had with all the other unions”, which meant reaching an agreement that would improve the working conditions of employees, while giving the government more flexibility in its administration.

Watch the video