Two teachers’ unions pan the latest contract offer

Two teachers’ unions say they are shocked by the Quebec government’s latest contract offer, adding it will do nothing to help ease the province’s teacher shortage.

The unions are denouncing the offer, which would see a teacher’s workload increase from 32 to 40 hours per week, which they say is a step backward. The government had previously recognized that, with all the work done after school and at home, 32 hours in the school amounts to more than a 40hour work week, said Josée Scalabrini, président of the Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE).

“Teachers already have very little time to prepare their classes and they work 50 to 60 hours in a week,” Scalabrini said.

She added that the provincial government has argued about the work week of teachers since 1990, calling it “an obsession.”

The unions also denounced the CAQ government’s backtracking on an electoral promise to abolish the first six entry-level salary scales, which would allow teachers to start with a higher overall salary. The promise was made to help make the profession more enticing for young people, as many teachers are close to retirement age, and there is a teacher shortage.

Instead, however, the offer calls for the first six salary scales to be increased, and teachers would earn between $42,431 and $82,585 over 17 salary scales.

The offer also calls for bonuses of five and seven per cent for teachers who work full-time in underprivileged areas. However, the unions said this is a way to divide teachers, saying it’s the students in the class who pose the problem and not the areas where the schools are located. A class can be difficult even if it’s not located in an area that is underprivileged, the unions pointed out.

“What they’re proposing looks good at first blush, until it’s explained properly,” Scalabrini said. “We’re asking why the government is trying to negotiate on the public stage rather than trying to find solutions with us.”