Sonia Lebel made encouraging comments about negotiations with the public sector

According to government officials, discussions to renew collective agreements in the public sector have accelerated.

Treasury Board Chairwoman Sonia Lebel’s office had encouraging words Monday about discussions with union representatives.

“We are having increasingly serious discussions with several unions and the pace is increasing,” announced spokeswoman Marylène Le Houillier. We share the understanding that it is still possible to agree by Christmas and we will make every effort to do so. »

Beyond this general idea, the office of M^me LeBel did not provide details on discussions with various public sector employee unions.

A press officer of CSQ, which is part of the General Front, refrained from commenting publicly on the status of the discussions. “We see things moving forward. Is the pace picking up? I’ll let the government make its announcements,” Maude Messier said. However, she believes there is room for improvement. “It’s going. Can it move faster? Yes” she said.

The General Front brings together four central trade unions, namely the Confederation of Quebec Workers (FTQ), the Confederation of National Unions (CSN), the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) and the Alliance of Professional and Technical Workers of Health and Society. Services (APTS).

According to M^me Messier, no counter offer has been submitted yet. Last week, union members opened the door to pressuring their demands into a collective agreement that would last longer than the three years originally planned.

“There is never any counter proposal from the public front in one form or another, we are always on the same parameters,” said Mr.^me Messier addressing salary issues.

The Common Front last week rejected an offer of 12.7% over five years put forward by the government, thus improving on its initial proposal of 10.3%.

The General Front represents 420,000 trade union members in the public sector, particularly in health and education. Mr.^me Messier.

“We still have a dynamic, on our side, with a solution before the holidays, and as we speak we see that it is still possible,” he said. All energies are set aside. »

For the Fédération interprofessional de la santé du Québec (FIQ), no significant progress was reported. The union representing nurses did not see any specific willingness on the part of the government to settle in the short term.

Education

Last week, Prime Minister François Legault expressed confidence that the return to class would be completed on Monday.

The Federation of Autonomous Education (FAE) could not be reached for comment on the progress of the discussions.

Last week, the president of the union, Melanie Hubert, said Mr. He judged Legault’s enthusiasm to be unrealistic. The 66,500 teachers represented by the FAE have been on indefinite general strike since November 23.

At the CSQ-affiliated Federation of Education Societies, president Josie Scalabrini hopes for a solution before December 23.

“Have things progressed since Friday? Yes, he announced on social networks. Are we any closer to reaching an agreement in principle? No. »

M^me However, Scalabrini was encouraged by the progress of the negotiations.

“If work continues from Friday, we believe the talks will give interesting indications,” he said.

FSE teachers want changes in the structure of classes and reduce their workload, said M^me Scalabrini.

Teachers represented by the FSE walked off the job from December 8 to 14 on the General Front.

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