Half a million people are striking in Quebec. Where is this going?
CBC
Public sector workers have been striking for weeks now to pressure the Quebec government into negotiating new collective agreements.
The major union federations, the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE), Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), and the common front, a coalition of unions representing more than 420,000 public sector workers in health-care and education, among other areas, are on strike for much of this week.
That means about 560,000 people, about six and a half per cent of Quebec's population, are striking.
The strikes are the largest labour movement in years and they are affecting the delivery of public services. Children are out of public school because teachers are striking. Many medical appointments are cancelled due to striking hospital staff.
So, where are we now? How far have things come and where is this going?
We answer a few questions about the strikes.
There are indications that, if no deal is reached before the new year, the common front could join the FAE in its general unlimited strike, which has been ongoing since Nov. 23.
A general unlimited strike is a work stoppage with no set end date. The striking workers simply strike until they agree to a new deal (or they are forced back to work, but the government has repeatedly said it has no intention of passing back-to-work legislation).
On Friday, the first day of the common front's seven-day strike, union leaders said they have two days' worth of general meetings planned starting on Dec. 18. That would be "the perfect time to present a tentative agreement (to their members)," said Robert Comeau, the president of the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS).
"If not, we'll have no choice but to take stock of the situation with our members and we don't see any other solution other than a general unlimited strike."
A general unlimited strike by the common front would keep all public schools in the province closed indefinitely. As it stands now, with only the FAE on a general unlimited strike, only schools with FAE personnel (a large number of French schools, but not all of them) are closed indefinitely.
Heading into this week, it didn't look like an agreement would be reached soon, according to the union leaders.
The government and the unions didn't negotiate over the weekend, which, union leaders said on Monday, was a sign that the government lacks urgency in bringing the strikes to an end.
But things can change quickly.