Info-négo from the Federal Council on December 5 and 6, 2023 

Federal Council on December 5 and 6, 2023 : Negotiations update

At the Federal Council on December 5 and 6, 2023, delegates heard the Negotiating Committee’s progress report.

Since November 28, the date when the new series of strike days was announced, work has intensified at the table. The parties are now negotiating every day and almost every evening. This has allowed your Negotiating Committee to advance a few demands.

But there is still a lot more to do. Your committee is currently discussing premiums, retirement, parental rights, organization of work time, and self scheduling. In some cases, the progress is within reach, whereas in others, we are still far from an agreement. However, even while negotiations are intensifying, the matters of overtime, on-call, and ratios remain unresolved.

As these words were being written, the employer party was submitting a new offer on intersectoral matters (i.e., salary), with the offer increased to 12.7% over 5 years. Unsurprisingly, the delegation rejected this new offer at the council. While this offer was clearly insufficient, the fact that the employer submitted a third salary offer is the proof that our pressure tactics are working.

When will there be an agreement?

Up until now, we can say that our strategy is working. The different series of strike days have caused an unequivocal change in the employer party’s attitude. Now, it is discussing our solutions, which it was refusing to do since negotiations began a year ago. What’s more, the pressure generated by the Common Front and the FAE, the CAQ’s drop in popularity, and the strong public support for our demands are also playing in our favour.

Unfortunately, the results to date are still insufficient. We deplore the fact that the employer party has waited so long before starting real discussions at the table. It’s very disappointing, and we will no doubt have to show further patience before we see an offer that is worth submitting to our members.

Continuing the strike

In this context, we must keep up the pressure: mobilization must continue with the same intensity, if not more, until we reach a satisfying agreement for you and your colleagues.

The next days will be decisive. The majority of our demands are still being discussed or will be very soon. Moreover, the government also has demands for greater flexibility, which your Negotiating Committee must counter. Your mobilization is absolutely crucial if we want to obtain significant gains for our top three priorities: salary, workload, and personal life-work balance!

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