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Montréal  – Taking note of statements made this morning by Treasury Board president Sonia LeBel, the Front commun said that after almost a year at the bargaining tables, the ball is now in the government’s court.

“We’re waiting to see if Ms. LeBel’s public remarks will actually translate into meaningful change at the bargaining tables,” said CSN first vice-president François Enault, CSQ president Éric Gingras, FTQ president Magali Picard and APTS president Robert Comeau, speaking on behalf of the Front commun. “After all, she’s said this kind of thing before. As you may recall, she wanted to reach an agreement by last June! The government is saying it will start by establishing priorities. When that’s been done, we’ll be able to assess the exercise.”

“But for us, one thing is clear,” added the Front commun representatives. “The offers selected by the government will have to be the offers of an employer of choice – offers that will bring significant improvement to conditions of work and practice. We’ve said this several times in the past two weeks, and nothing has changed today, despite Ms. LeBel’s statements: our members have very high expectations, and we’re carrying their voices and their demands. We have to go beyond the government’s priorities to ensure better conditions for all classes of personnel in our public systems. Yes, it’s time for the government to make choices, and the ball is in its court. We suggest that it avoid any kind of blackmail operation and find the courage to take care of its people. In the streets on Saturday, that message was pretty clear.”

For more information about current contract talks: https://www.frontcommun.org/.

The Front commun

Together, the CSN, CSQ, FTQ and APTS represent over 420,000 public-sector workers who are employed by the Québec government in schools, health and social services, and higher education