Negotiations continue as home daycare workers set to strike Monday

Providers seek additional compensation for preparing dossiers, meeting parents

Intense negotiations continued Friday afternoon between the Quebec government and the federation representing 10,000 home daycare providers in the hopes of avoiding a general unlimited strike set to begin Monday.

The workers ended a series of rotating strikes on Friday that began Sept. 1 and did a tour of Quebec's regions, ending in the Montérégie and Laurentians.

The unions said they would launch an unlimited strike Monday if a deal had not been reached by then.

Both sides say they want to do everything they can to avoid the strike. They have met about 40 times since March 2019, but discussions have slowed since the end of June before ramping up in recent days.

The Fédération des intervenantes en petite enfance said it was encouraged that the family minister attended Friday's negotiation session.

Talks were expected to continue Friday evening and maybe even into Saturday. The federation has scheduled a news conference for Sunday.

Compensation is the main point of contention, but also allowing more children with special needs. The unions also want additional compensation for the work needed to prepare children's dossiers and meet with parents.

Home daycare workers are not paid an hourly salary but instead get a $43,000 subsidy from the government to work from their homes, plus $7 out of the $8.35 daily parent contribution. The FIPEQ calculates that its members make about $12.42 an hour, and want that increased to $16.75. The government disputes those calculations, noting that the providers also benefit from tax deductions.