Quebec government vows no new deals with public sector unions
Quebec's treasury board president, Sam Hamad, says the Liberal government has no intention of sweetening any deals with the province's public sector unions.
"We won't give any more to groups that have decided they want to renegotiate. We have no intention of moving any further," Hamad said.
Quebec's government reached agreements-in-principle with many of the province's public sector unions toward the end of 2015.
Those deals are now in the process of being ratified by the unions' membership.
But the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE), Montreal's largest teachers' group, rejected a tentative deal from the Quebec government.
Leaders of the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS), which represents 110,000 health workers in Quebec, have also made clear their opposition to all existing deals.
The Quebec government does not yet have plans to impose agreements on the unions, preferring instead to let the unions meet with their membership to decide their next moves, Hamad said.
"We won't add a cent more out of respect for the 350,000 people who have ratified an agreement," he said.
"We'll wait for the results, and then act if necessary."
