Labour action is likely to grow in Quebec over the weekend as the Front Commun pushes back against cuts from the provincial government.
Public sector negotiations in Quebec are likely to heat up this weekend. On September 30, bonuses that are paid to public workers in health care, social services and education will be cut.
This move by the government of Quebec demonstrates their “arrogance” according to the Front Commun. The Front Commun is a coalition of Quebec labour organizations including the Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux (CSN), the Centrale des Syndicats du Quebec (CSQ), the Federation des Travailleurs at Travailleuse du Quebec (FTQ) and the Alliance du Personnel Professionnel et Technique de la Sante et des Services Sociaux (APTS). The organization’s name translates to “common front” from french.
“These bonuses represent thousands of dollars per year for thousands of people in health care, social services and education,” The leaders of the four organizations in the Front Commun said on their website. “They count on the bonuses to do their groceries and pay their bills. The fact that the government is serving themselves by using these bonuses to get points at the negotiation table is unacceptable.”
Among the bonuses being cut for public sector workers are bonuses that are intended to attract people to public sector jobs and retain them. Cutting these bonuses comes as a huge blow during a time where staff shortages are hurting public services, according to the Front Commun.
The Organization said that staffing is at the heart of negotiations right now and their resolve is bolstered by the 2022-2023 annual report from the Quebec Ombudsman.
A media release by the office of the Quebec Ombudsman said that governments are dealing with recruitment problems and lack of teams now more than ever. The effects of these staffing issues manifest in complaints and reports that the Quebec Ombudsman handles. The patterns in these complaints and reports show that organizations cannot maintain quality public services with the proper staffing levels.
“We need more attractive employment options with improved working conditions and competitive salaries to retain the expertise of the workers in our networks and to recruit new people. That happens through negotiations,” the Front Commun wrote on their site.
The group said that the ball is in the government’s court and it is time for workers’ demands to be taken seriously. On their website, the Front Commun points to a survey done by SOM, a Quebec research firm, that shows 87 per cent of people believe the government should improve working conditions for their employees.
As negotiations continue, the Quebec government may end up facing a general strike that has public support. The very existence of the Front Commun at this time demonstrates an amount of readiness for a general strike in Quebec.
The Front Commun Intersyndicale led general strikes in Quebec in 1972. As the Front Commun becomes more active once again in 2023, strike votes are being taken. So far, members of the Front Commun have voted in favour of a strike, according to a report by the Canadian Press.
Whatever happens next depends on whether this weekend’s loss of thousands of dollars in bonuses will further galvanize workers to take a stand.
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Gabriela “Gabby” Calugay-Casuga (she/they) is a writer and activist based in so-called “Ottawa.” They began writing for Migrante Ottawa’s radio show, Talakayang Bayan, in 2017. Since then, she…
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