By Mikayla Geraghty – Staff Writer
Before the holidays, teachers’ unions across Quebec took to the streets protesting working conditions and inadequate salary proposals. Last week, the Common Front began voting on an agreement in principle with the Quebec government on pay and working conditions. The Common Front, includes the Fédération des syndicats de l’Enseignement (FSE-CSQ) and Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT) – collectively representing over 100,000 teachers.
Unions are voting on a sectorial proposal, which refers to working conditions and class sizes, and an inter-sectorial proposal which refers to salaries and pensions. Five out of 33 unions in the FSE-CSQ voted last week, with one rejecting. Meanwhile, teaching unions in the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE) are voting on an agreement separate from the Common Front, and last week’s votes showed some division. While there has been no more talk of indefinite striking at this time, they left their mark on the community of educators.
Anna Bernath, an instructor at both Champlain College and Bishop’s University has been active throughout the process. Unions from Champlain College are affiliated with the Common Front. She claims that there is inadequate support from the government which is reflected in “outdated infrastructure” and a lack of investment in critical educational resources. In a statement, she wrote that “despite the crucial role education plays in shaping the future of our society, the government’s budgetary priorities have consistently fallen short, compromising the quality of education for our students.” Along with the goal of resource allocation to develop the education system, the teachers are fighting for a cost of living adjustment along with all public sector workers, she wrote.
When Châteauguay senior teacher Debbie Penning, one of the many teachers a part of the QPAT union, was asked to comment on the negotiations, she told The Campus that: “the main goal of the teachers was to create conditions better suited for learning. Many of our students are struggling and we are looking for solutions in the way of class composition.” As a teacher of over 30 years, Penning says she continues to advocate for her students during this process. She is fighting alongside colleagues to ensure the best possible learning environments for their students.
The practice teaching office at Bishop’s University told The Campus that until anything is announced, practicums will proceed as planned until informed otherwise. They will defer to the Quebec Ministry of Education for guidance regarding decisions related to practice teaching in the event of future strike days as they did in the case of COVID-19. They will be monitoring the situation closely.
While practicums and union voting will continue for the next few weeks, fourth-year education student Cliff Neil shared that he would be “devastated” if his six-week practicum was halted should the process deteriorate. “We put so much time and effort into our degree and for many of us the highlight of it all is our practicum. It is the only time we get to experience what we are doing for real.”
Education student Gianluca Iannantuono supports the teachers and the past strikes, but the current education context in Quebec is “not really enticing me to go into this career field. In the next three years I want to be in a classroom, not still fighting for fairness”, he wrote in a statement. “When practicums are restricted to winter semesters only, substitution [teaching] becomes the only option for building experience ‘year round’”. He noted that substitution teaching is a great source of income as a student and as a learning resource, but when schools shut down during the strikes in fall, that resource was cut off for a short period of time.
Likewise, education students Eric Clipperton and Rowan Halpenny expressed that the turmoil made them feel uncertain and uneasy. At this time The Campus is monitoring the situation closely and will provide updates relevant to the Bishop’s community as they come.
This article was edited on Jan. 23 to add information about Champlain College’s unions’ affiliation with the Common Front.
The Campus 