EXCERPTS
Strikes in Quebec’s unionized daycare centres continued on Friday despite an offer of an immediate pay increase from the province a day earlier.
Friday’s walkouts were carried out by members of the CSN-affiliated Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux. On Monday, members of the Syndicat québécois des employés de service are expected to follow suit.
On Thursday, the Legault government said it was ready to pay out part of the salary increase it had proposed to workers even as contract negotiations continued.
At the moment, the pay scale for daycare educators ranges from $19 to $25.18 an hour.
Quebec’s full offer would bring salaries, at the end of the collective agreement, to $21.38 at the first step and $28.31 at the 10th and final step, but for qualified educators only.
Quebec’s announcement aims to pay part of these increases immediately.
Negotiations are still continuing between the parties.
Also, as many educators currently have a 32- to 36-hour week, while there is a shortage of educators, Quebec wants to encourage them to adopt a 40-hour week.
To achieve this, Quebec is offering a bonus of $50 per week to those who would agree to work 40 hours.
The unions are caught between a rock and a hard place, because they not only represent educators, but also workers in the kitchen, maintenance and administration in childcare centres. However, those union members would not benefit from the same increases as the educators.
On another front, unsubsidized private daycares are planning a one-day strike on Oct. 20 to raise government awareness of their plight.
The government of Quebec will receive $6 billion over five years from the federal government for its network of child care services.