Quebec Teachers Hold One-Day
Strike
Attempts to Secure a NegotiatedCollective Agreement
Quebec
teachers, 73,000 members of the Federation of Education Unions and of
the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, affiliated with the
Quebec Labour Congress (CSQ) held an overnight strike that began at
midnight and ended at 9:30 am on April 14. Lively demonstrations
were held in the early morning outside
many schools throughout the province. The CSQ has announced that the
next strike action will be on April 27, lasting several hours.
Teachers demands include reduced class sizes,
support for students
with special needs, adequate funding for
classrooms, equitable access
to distance teaching, learning and technology, re-evaluation of testing and
assessments, that the safety of
all be ensured in the
context of COVID-19 and beyond, and solidarity
with all frontline
workers, to
name a few.
 In response to
the strike action, the school service centres
(formerly French School Boards) and English
Montreal School Board filed
an application to the Administrative Labour Tribunal (TAT) challenging the legality of the
April 14 strike,
alleging it was abusive. They withdrew their
application the day before
the
strike and announced that teachers must be
present in schools at 9:31
am to conduct online learning. Parents were
informed the day before the
strike that online learning would be
administered.
Confusion among parents as to how to support
the teachers was
evident. It was not clear if the abrupt switch to online learning was an
initiative by teachers to
reduce the impact on a lost day of learning or a
pressure tactic by the
school boards against the strike action. Many
were discussing and
circulating articles on the morning of the
strike that stated that the
online
learning program was an anti-strike initiative
put in place at the last
minute by school boards. Some parents decided
not to have their child
attend the online learning program to support
the teachers.
The last minute shenanigans of the school
boards is unacceptable.
They knew for two weeks that the strike was
planned but they
demanded teachers be ready to give classes
online at a moment's notice.
Online learning is a tool to combat the
pandemic, not strike actions.
The pandemic is making it even more difficult
for information to be
transmitted. Mechanisms to support the teachers,
access information and
take action while respecting safety guidelines
is key.
A petition is being circulated called We Are
Drawing the Line to Redefine Education. Click here to sign
and share.
The teachers are waging a crucial battle for
the quality and integrity of public education.
All out to support this fight!
 
This article was published in
April 19, 2021 - No. 30
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08303.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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