How long can this go on for? We try to answer key Quebec strike questions

Public sector workers in Quebec held historically large strikes last week and teachers who are part of the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE) remain off the job indefinitely — keeping 368,000 students out of school, according to the Education Ministry.

Negotiations between the unions and the government are ongoing, but, after a week spent with their kids out of school, some parents are growing impatient. 

"We understand the teachers' right to strike but on the other hand we don't want our children to be affected by the strike if it goes on for weeks," said Sylvain Martel, a spokesperson for the Regroupement des comités de parents autonomes du Québec, a parents' group. 

"We would think that with 800 schools closed indefinitely in Quebec there would be urgency to reopen those schools and we don't feel there is this urgency in the air right now and that's really troubling."

But teachers say they'll stay on strike as long as it takes to secure a favourable contract, and the common front, a coalition of unions representing 420,000 public sector workers in education and health care, announced a week of strike action Dec. 8 to 14. That raises the possibility that students could remain out of class for weeks or even months.

So, here are some answers, or almost-answers, to some questions you may have about the strikes: 

Well, nobody really knows.

Teachers affiliated with the FAE say they'll continue striking until the government offers them a deal that includes better working conditions. They're asking for smaller class sizes, better support and higher pay to keep up with inflation, among other things. 

Those teachers, the common front unions and the heath-care workers represented by the Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), have also highlighted forced overtime, stagnating salaries, unpredictable schedules, job insecurity and other difficulties that contribute to what they say are poor working conditions. 

Last week Premier François Legault hinted at the government's willingness to put more money on the table in exchange for worker "flexibility" in contracts.

Negotiations are continuing. The leaders of the common front said Tuesday that they had made more progress in negotiations with the government over the past two weeks than they had in a year, but they signalled their intention to strike in December and warned of the possibility of a general unlimited strike in the new year. 

A deal, of course. The government and the unions will have to agree on a tentative deal, first, which the unions will then have to present to their members for a vote. A majority of union members would have to approve a deal for it to be accepted.

We asked Barry Eidlin, an associate professor in the department of sociology at McGill University with expertise in labour movements. 

He said the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees the right to strike as part of freedom of association. "But that hasn't prevented other provincial governments from trying to pass back-to-work legislation," he said.