SPGQ union members vote in favour of strike
Junior college teachers represented by the largest professional union in Quebec have voted to go on strike on Nov. 23 and 24.
The Syndicat de professionnelles et professionnels du gouvernement du Québec (SPGQ) represents more than 33,600 specialists, including junior college (CEGEP) teachers, workers at Revenu Québec, Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec, Loto-Québec and the BAnQ. It is not part of the common front of unions, which is also in contract talks with the government.
SPGQ members are calling on the government to put an end to the systemic salary discrimination that "prevails in predominantly female workplaces such as CEGEPs."
The 10.3 per cent offers members received from the government are "not only insufficient, they are insulting," Guillaume Bouvrette, president of the SPGQ, said in news a release Saturday.
"Our members do essential work to enable students to continue their studies and acquire essential skills to build the Quebec of tomorrow. This must be recognized," Bouvrette said.
Professional employees at the Philippe-Pinel forensic psychiatric institute in Montreal, who are also members of SPGQ, have voted 93 per cent in favour of pressure tactics if they don't get a better contract offer from the province.
The employees work in a number of roles, ranging from criminologists to therapists.
In another news release today, the SPGQ said the employer "must make offers that are fair and respectful of the expertise" of its members.
"Our members demonstrated today that they are determined to go all the way if the employer forces them to, and we will do everything in our power to obtain the working conditions they deserve," the news release reads.
Pressure tactics could eventually lead to an unlimited general strike.
