Front Commun strike reaches third consecutive day, joined by other unions

Front Commun strike reaches third consecutive day, joined by other unions

Unionized public sector workers continued their historic strike today (November 23), with hundreds of thousands of education and health care workers taking to picket lines across the province. The Front Commun, a coalition of unions representing more than 420,000 members, was joined today by several other unions outside its umbrella, such as the FIQ, FAE and SPGQ. The unions issued a joint statement this morning noting that their 570,000 members represent roughly 10% of Quebec’s working population, making today the largest labour action in Canada’s history, and the largest in North America since the 1980s.

Meagan Soucie, a special education technician at École Poupore in Fort-Coulonge, was one of the 65 members of the CSN union stationed outside the Knights of Columbus Hall in Fort-Coulonge. She explained that in addition to salary increases to catch up with soaring inflation, they also want better working conditions.

Her colleague and local union Vice-President Chantal Brochu said that the support from the community has been encouraging.

CBC reported this morning Premier Francois Legault said that a bigger salary offer was possible, but said that it would be contingent on unions agreeing to some concessions around scheduling.

While the Front Commun strike will wrap up today, the FIQ, representing 80,000 nurses and health specialists across the province will continue their two day strike tomorrow.