The unions affiliated with the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) representing the teaching, support and professional staff of the Cree and Kativik School Boards announced that they will be holding strike days in the upcoming days.
Specifically, there will be a strike in the Cree School Board institutions on April 14, and at the Kativik School Board on April 28.
This was confirmed at a press conference by the presidents of the Association des employés du Nord québécois (AENQ-CSQ), Larry Imbeault, the Syndicat des professionnelles et professionnels des commissions scolaires de l'Ouest de Montréal (SPPOM), Carolane Desmarais, and the Syndicat des professionnelles et professionnels en milieu scolaire du Nord-Ouest (SPPMSNO-CSQ), Jean-Claude Major, accompanied by the president of the CSQ, Sonia Ethier.
An employer side without a mandate
Exasperated by the never-ending talks, the unions representing teachers, professionals and support staff in Northern Quebec have come to exercise their right to strike because talks are not progressing at the hoped-for pace at the negotiation table. "It is appalling to see that teachers, support staff and professionals are not being taken seriously by the employer side, which clearly does not have a mandate to negotiate," said the president of the CSQ, Sonia Ethier.
Therefore, the union leaders used the press conference to sum up the ongoing negotiations and review their key demands to improve working conditions for their members.
Urgent needs for teachers and support staff
"The needs in education in the northern communities are alarming. Services are insufficient. The shortage of teachers and support staff is profound. More than ever, we need measures to attract and retain workers. If living, teaching and learning conditions were ideal, we could finally hope for an improvement in student success rates," said Larry Imbeault, president of the AENQ-CSQ.
The AENQ-CSQ calls for a significant increase in student services, the enhancement of staff living conditions, and tangible attraction and retention strategies to counter the significant shortage of staff. Akin to community residents, the staff are suffering the consequences of a chronic lack of housing and facing a major drinking water supply crisis. The situation that prevails for all Akulivik community residents is an example.
A serious shortage of professional staff at the Cree School Board
Jean-Claude Major, president of the SPPMSNO-CSQ, which represents the Cree School Board professionals, believes that "the lack of resources and the specific needs of students in the North are extremely worrisome. Recruiting and retaining staff is all the more difficult, and we propose tangible solutions to make positions more alluring. Several solutions would cost the employer nothing, yet despite this, we are stonewalled. We know our members, we know their working reality yet, despite all this, we are not heard and we are not taken seriously when proposing solutions."
A boost to the Kativik School Board
Same resistance from employers in the negotiations with professionals at the Kativik School Board, as the president of the SPPOM, Carolane Desmarais explains. "There is only one psychologist currently working in the Kativik schools. How many social workers are there? Two for this entire territory. The school environment is an ideal setting for preventing, detecting and intervening in the mental health of young people. Over and over, it has been proven that the needs of Quebec students far exceed the professional resources in place. And the situation is even more urgent in Nunavik. We must absolutely act now to attract and retain professional staff in Nunavik schools," pleads the president of the SPPOM.
A government that must walk the talk
In closing, the president of the CSQ, Sonia Ethier, mentioned that "the government is delivering nice speeches on the importance of considering Aboriginal realities and cultures, and their contribution to the Quebec society. It must now move beyond words to actions and take concrete measures that go beyond wishful thinking. This is the government's responsibility to the students of Northern Quebec and their communities."
