Quebec public sector workers begin 3-day strike

All right you’re looking at a live shot right now of Montreal the city and Province are dealing with a major labor disruption today unions representing a number of public sector workers have started a three-day strike action across Quebec and that includes many teachers which means parents are dealing with

Closed schools Alison northcot is covering the story in eastern Montreal for us she joins us right now uh so Alison tell us where you are and uh what you’re hearing from workers there well I’m outside a public school here in Montreal where support staff are on strike there are among more than 400,000

Public sector workers Across The Province on strike today so that includes staff at hospitals and Health Care Centers as well as in many schools so it means many schools are closed today across the province the support staff here say that they working in conditions and their pay need to improve

They say they are the lowest paid employees in the school system and that the working conditions uh have need to be improved and that with especially with the cost of inflation that their wages what they’re earning is just not sustainable have a listen even though the government makes

A big deal about reducing their demands to five our employers say they have no mandate to settle even one point the same thing they have been saying for an entire year and contrary to the claims Madame label makes on so media it’s not because of the unions that we are

Standing still it’s because of the government the treasury board negotiates through public announcements not at the negotiating tables so this is just the latest in the ongoing dispute between the government and the public sector labor unions and they say that it is uh that they are continuing negotiations and this week

The government named a conciliator to try to help the negotiations and try to move things forward the president of the treasury board for Quebec says that they who who’s participating in this negotiations says she is in favor of that conciliator if they are able to help move the discussions forward and

Bring the two sides closer together okay so Allison this is just one of three days of strike action they say there could be more to come tell us about that yes this is the first three days where several public sector unions are particip I ating but later this week

Other unions will add to this strike so there are another teachers union that will be going on an an limited strike starting on Thursday so that means that a lot of the schools that are closed today could remain closed indefinitely if those teachers uh aren’t able to get

A deal with the government before that they also say that their working conditions and the composition of their classrooms and their wages need to be addressed have a listen to a teacher I spoke with the infrastructure in our schools is crumbling really needs to be brought back up to standards classes are

Overcrowded and then just the resources to meet the needs of the different students are not there students have so many academic learning needs social needs and even are sometimes going through psychological distress and the professionals are not there the supports are not there for students to carry all

Of those needs so unfortunately the teaching gets left behind in everything else that is on teachers plates right now so the nurses Union will also be doing a two-day strike later this week the Union’s behind today’s action say that they want to come to an agreement as quickly as possible but if they’re

Not able to there could be further strike action after this but they do hope to be able to get an agreement by Christmas okay Alison North God thank you for that update that’s Alison in eastern Montreal

More than 400,000 public sector workers in Quebec, including many teachers and nurses, have begun a three-day strike that will affect the province’s health, education and social service networks.

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