Some Quebec daycares to open at noon due to ongoing strike

Some 3,000 workers in Quebec daycares are expected to be on strike again this Friday for a few hours.

The numerous daycares, which are located in Montreal, the Montérégie, Laval, Lanaudière, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Chaudière-Appalaches, Quebec and the Eastern Townships, are not expected to open their doors until 12 p.m.

The workers are members of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) affiliated Fédération des intervenantes en petite enfance (FIPEQ) and are now on their fourth Friday of walkouts since mid-November.

FIPEQ says it will soon announce the next stage of its “progressive strike” mandate unless there is a breakthrough in negotiations.

On Thursday, representatives of the federation and the central labour body demonstrated in Quebec City and met with members of parliament to plead their case.

Their collective agreement expired on March 31, 2023, the same time as government employees but Quebec only tabled its offers last spring.

The dispute mainly concerns salaries as, according to the scale effective as of March 31, 2023, a qualified CPE educator earns $21.60 an hour at the first echelon, $28.60 an hour at the 10th echelon and $30.03 an hour after one year at the 10th echelon.

An unqualified educator earns $18.52 an hour at entry level.

FIPEQ claims it was only offered a 12.7 per cent increase over five years, while public sector workers were given 17.4 per cent over five years.

Quebec has already countered that the 17.4 per cent increase was in exchange for “flexibility in work organization that has a real impact on service.”

Negotiations are still ongoing between the parties, though they are taking place at a time when there is a shortage of staff in childcare services.

As such, Quebec says it wants to open thousands of spaces to meet needs.

— This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 6, 2024.