Teachers demand more pay rises

Despite the salary increases recently granted to teachers, their salary is still below the Canadian average, deplores the Autonomous Federation of Education, which is calling for a salary catch-up of 8% to remedy this and an annual indexation of at least 4% to counter inflation.

Teachers demand more pay rises

Despite the salary increases recently granted to teachers, their salary is still below the Canadian average, deplores the Autonomous Federation of Education, which is calling for a salary catch-up of 8% to remedy this and an annual indexation of at least 4% to counter inflation.

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The Autonomous Federation of Education announced Thursday morning the demands of the 60,000 teachers it represents as part of the new round of negotiations that are beginning with the Legault government.

Their collective agreement will expire at the end of March 2023.

“We are aware that these are substantial requests, but in a context of shortage, we must also have salaries accordingly, affirms its president, Mélanie Hubert. We are not asking to be the best paid in Canada, we just want to be able to compare ourselves to the Canadian average, it seems to me that is reasonable.

In the current context, the pay check will weigh heavily in the balance, warns Ms. Hubert: "In the past, teachers told us a lot: we want more air in our classes, our working conditions, it's more important . This year, the teachers challenge us a lot on the salary because the cost of living is what it is for everyone. Teachers are no exception.

Improve working conditions

To counter the shortage, the FAE is nevertheless calling for more measures to improve the “family-work-personal life” balance, which could help retain teachers in Quebec schools.

“People are very envious of our summer holidays, but we have schedules that are not at all flexible, you have to be there from Monday to Friday. We have to take time off to go to appointments for our children who have difficulties or for our aging parents,” says Ms. Hubert.

Increased leave for family reasons as well as more flexibility, such as reduced working hours which are no longer allowed by some employers, could make a difference, she explains.

The FAE also calls for more balanced classes, in particular by opening groups adapted to the needs of certain students in difficulty or from immigrant backgrounds.

Gains important

Ms. Hubert acknowledges that teachers made significant gains during the last negotiation, with salary increases of around 15% for teachers at the start and end of their career.

"But now is not the time to stop," she says. We must continue to improve the service, we are in the right direction, but we have not yet arrived at the right destination. We want more because public schools and Quebec students deserve better,” she said.

In an interview at Paul Arcand's microphone on Monday, on 98.5 FM, Prime Minister François Legault, for his part, said he wanted to "have our teachers with more seniority in schools that are more difficult".

However, the FAE categorically closes the door to questioning the principle of seniority in the school network. “The goal is rather to do tasks that are fair for everyone and to offer services around to help teachers,” says Mélanie Hubert.

Early career

At the end of career:

Source: Autonomous Federation of Education (annual salary).

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