Quebec daycare workers plan to strike on October 12 and 13

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Several Quebec daycares will be on strike on October 12 and 13, unless the government presents a better contract renewal offer to the union by then.

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The days of strike are the first of the six days approved by the members of the Federation of Early Childhood Workers, who work in the daycare centers of the Early Childhood Centers. The union is affiliated with the Centrale des unions du Québec.

The rotating strike affected the regions of Montreal, Laval, Lanaudière, Montérégie and Estrie on October 12 and the regions of Capitale-Nationale, Chaudière-Appalaches and Abitibi-Témiscamingue on October 13.

The union is awaiting a new offer from the government on October 7. FIPEQ president Valérie Grenon said that a sufficiently attractive offer would prevent a strike.

“Of course, if on the 7th we have a favorable response, we will stop everything,” Grenon said. “We won’t hit just to hit.

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Grenon said progress has been made at the negotiating table.

“There isn’t much left; a lot of things are already settled. One final blitz, and we can deal with it quickly.

Members of the Federation of Health and Social Services, affiliated with the CSN union, have already taken one day of strike action and have two more scheduled for October 14 and 15, as part of a 10-day strike mandate.

The unions affiliated with the FTQ federation are considering strike mandates.

The main issue on the table is that of wages. Currently, salaries for qualified child care educators are $ 19 per hour to start and $ 25 at the top of the pay scale. The CSQ federation is asking for salary increases of 27% over three years for the bottom of the scale and 21% over three years for the top of the range.

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The FIPEQ also wants a minimum number of support staff, including maintenance staff and specialists. Grenon said there were many reductions among this type of staff in 2015 and 2016, increasing the workload for educators. She said the union wanted more help in dealing with children with special needs.

With a labor shortage in daycare centers, “we have to find new stakeholders,” Grenon said. “We need to attract new workers and bring back those who quit. “

Quebec can use the $ 6 billion it receives from the federal government as part of its national child care plan to fund such increases, Grenon said.