Quebec Public Sector Workers' Strike
An Authority at Odds With Current Conditions
Common Front, Montreal, December 8, 2023
Starting on December 7, for seven days, the 420,000 health, education and social program workers of the Common Front joined the 66,500 teachers of the Autonomous Teachers' Federation (FAE) who have been on an unlimited strike since November 23. The 80,000 members of the Interprofessional Health Federation of Quebec (FIQ) were on strike from December 11 to 14. Despite the enormous difficulties the strike is causing Quebec families, public support remains strong, simply because people are aware that the quality and quantity of care to which they are entitled are defended by workers in this sector.
One of the issues at stake in the current battle is that the health and education sectors are close to a breaking point following nearly 30 years of anti-social offensive, which over time has been called cutbacks, cuts, austerity, balanced budgets and now the need for flexibility. Far from solving anything for the population and protecting the services to which the people are entitled, these anti-social policies have exacerbated the crisis in the systems of health care and education that are badly in need of investments and reform to strengthen not destroy them, in order to privatize and pay the rich with monies diverted from the social programs. Working conditions are now such that health care workers and education personnel are deserting these sectors. After the tragedies of the pandemic, workers are saying: enough!
The aim of the government's restructuring of public services is to hand over decision-making in this sector to the narrow private interests it serves. Its scheme is to be able to deploy the workforce as it sees fit, without having to take into account the limits on hours of work and shifts achieved by workers in employment contracts. The Legault government is refusing to tackle the major problems identified by the community, and in particular by workers in these sectors and their organizations, nor is it its intention to do so. Because it has no pro-social solutions, this government resorts to attempts to divide the ranks of the workers and threatens them to achieve its ends. As quoted in the press on December 6, Legault said:
"It's important that all Quebeckers understand that the negotiations we're currently conducting to renew collective agreements will be decisive for the future of the health and education networks. ... For decades, we haven't been able to improve education and health services much because of the rigidity of collective agreements. We're not able to. [...] Let me give you an example: if a manager agrees with an employee on a work schedule, the union may reject it. Often, employees would agree with our proposals, but they're rejected by the unions. [...] That's what negotiations are all about. [...] It's going to be a bumpy ride over the next few weeks." Despite the fact that the basic disagreement in the current battle is who the managers serve, Legault said: "It's not right that our network should be managed by unions rather than by managers."
The
question before all Quebecers is to hold the government
accountable and make sure it assumes its social responsibilities
when it comes to increasing investment in health care and education and
end privatization.
(Quotations translated from French original by Workers' Forum.)
This article was published in
Number 61 - December 15, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10611.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca