This month, 12,000 childcare workers in Quebec will vote on a strike mandate amidst ongoing disagreements over salaries, leaves of absence, and workload amounts. The strike mandate comes as the province grapples with a significant shortage of childcare professionals. The Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux (CSN), is pushing for a mandate to initiate a five-day strike, reflecting their frustrations with the current state of childcare services and their unfulfilled negotiations with the Quebec government. Family daycare managers, members of the Federation de la Santé et des Services Sociaux (FSSS) and unions affiliated with the CSN voted 96 per cent in favour of a strike mandate.
In an interview with the Montreal Gazette, Stéphanie Vachon, a representative of the Early Childhood Education sector, spoke about the current state of childcare workers in Quebec and the ongoing negotiations with the Quebec government. “Right now, the government should ask us what it can do to keep the staff in place. We hope that this will put pressure to obtain more dates for negotiations, more serious discussions and a commitment from the employer to really resolve the staff shortage in the long term,” Vachon said.
During a rally in Montreal, Vachon further emphasized the importance for the Quebec government to recognize the vital work childcare workers conduct in the public sector. “I think there’s an emergency to react, for the government to realize that it’s a profession that needs to be respected,” said Vachon.
As of right now, the biggest concern for childcare workers in Quebec are salaries. According to Lucie Longchamp, vice-president of the FSSS, the average childcare worker in Quebec is paid between $42,000 and $44,000 per year. “It’s not a big sum of money for the important work they do. They make a big difference in children’s lives,” said Longchamp at the Montreal rally. “Children who are well-equipped in a quality educational service will enter school one step ahead. […] The network is suffering a great deal at the moment, and they need to understand that enough is enough.”
On the bargaining table, the Quebec government is offering childcare workers a 12.7 per cent pay increase over the next five years, while a counter-offer from public-sector unions demanded a 17.4 per cent raise over the same time.
Longchamp explained that the strike mandate will adapt to the context of the negotiations. The strike could shape into later daycare openings, earlier closures, or even full days’ absences. However, Longchamp made it clear that the strike would last up to five days. To provide fair warning and ensure parents are adequately prepared, strike dates and hours will be announced at least ten days in advance.
A province wide-strike in the childcare sector looms over Quebec in the month of November as negotiations continue between the CSN and the Quebec government. The future of childcare services in Quebec remain unknown.