Federation of Autonomous Education (FAE) teachers will continue their indefinite general strike earlier this week, despite a counter-offer proposed to the government.
• Read more: FAE Counteroffer: What to Expect?
However, significant progress was reported by the Autonomous Federation of Education (FAE) last week, but nothing to end the strike.
“The government understands that the composition of classes is a problem,” FAE president Melanie Hubert admitted on TVA Saturday morning. “But it’s still not quite right.”
So the strike will continue into the beginning of the week as well. For its part, The General Front, which brings together union members of FTQ, CSN, CSQ and APTS, is set to stage a walkout from December 8 to 14..
Citizens of Unity
Expressing concern over the state of the public network, citizens gathered in front of the National Assembly on Sunday afternoon to express their solidarity with striking workers in the health and education sectors.
Several dozen people gathered in the early afternoon at the invitation of parents who wanted to show “faces of support” to the strikers.
“Our first concern is the state of the public network, the state of education, the state of the health system,” explains Solen Tanguay, spokeswoman for the Citizens’ Initiative, in an interview. “The government needs to realize that those in front of them are not just striking workers.”
Legault’s comments are dire
Mother and mother-in-law of five school children, Mme Tanguay did not particularly appreciate Prime Minister François Legault’s call for teachers to return to work “for the sake of the children”.
“There was an effort to speak for us, but I believe Mr. Legault did not understand the temperature of the water very well,” said Soleine Tanguay, who described the prime minister as “disconnected.”
Solène Tanguay is the spokesperson for the Solidarity Initiative for striking public sector workers.
That’s the sentiment shared by Anne, a mother of three at the school that protested Sunday in Quebec.
“I felt like he was trying to make everyone feel guilty when all they were doing was protecting our kids,” she says. “[Les enseignants] Knows what’s going on in the schools, it’s not François Legault in his office.
He hopes negotiations will move forward before the holiday season.
“I’m on the board of my children’s school, and we’re seeing a labor shortage in daycare services,” she says. “We can see that things are not going well and things are getting worse over the years.”
This solidarity of citizens was well received by the striking teachers.
“It gives us the courage to continue our fight,” said Karine Tanguay, a primary school teacher and member of the General Front. She believes the government “realizes that people are aware of the needs and difficulties” in the education sector.
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