MONTREAL — In the first of a possible five days of strikes, almost 13,000 workers from 400 government child care facilities rallied and marched in cities and towns across Quebec Jan. 23. They are demanding the government negotiate a union contract with higher wages and better working conditions.
Hundreds of workers in Montreal, wearing yellow union T-shirts over their winter coats in the sub-freezing temperatures, poured out of the Papineau subway station for an 8 a.m. rally and march. They went first to the offices of the Quebec Ministry of Families and then to the office of Premier Francois Legault.
The workers, the vast majority women, are members of the Confederation of National Trade Unions, which organizes 80% of unionized child care workers in Quebec. The workers voted by 94% to mandate union leaders to call the strikes to press for a speedup in negotiations. Talks have been underway for eight months with little progress. Their union contract expired in March 2023.
Most of the workers live at a poverty level with annual incomes from 39,000 Canadian dollars ($27,180) to CA$54,000. They are demanding increases to match income levels that public school workers receive, reduction in their impossible daily workload with the hiring of more staff, as well as variable wage rates that reflect differences in the cost-of-living across the province.
The government is demanding more “flexibility in work organization,” a code phrase for more work from fewer workers in exchange for higher wages.
“Many workers quit to take jobs in the elementary school sector because the salary is 9% higher on average,” union activist Stephanie Vachon told CityNews four days before the strike. “There is no reason for us to be treated differently. We want more than 17%, we should have 26% to be treated equally.”
“Year after year, the government asks us to do more work, more perfection in our work, and it’s difficult to give the service, the quality of service that we want to give,” she said. “We run all day long and we interact with kids, it’s really physical, emotional and psychological. It’s an exhausting job.”
“I really support the strikes because we know that the work conditions in day cares are not necessarily up to par,” said single parent Alex-Ann Adams, reflecting the views of the majority of parents.
“If we want our kids and the next generation to be well raised and well taken care of, we have to take care of the day care workers as well.”
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