Press release
The Common Front will be on strike on November 6

Montreal, October 26, 2023. – On November 6, the 420,000 workers represented by the Common Front will conduct a first one-day strike sequence. In education, health and social services as well as higher education, throughout Quebec and with one voice, they will send a first warning shot to force the government to make a substantial offer to the Common Front.

It was through social media that the Common Front learned this week of the government’s intention to submit a new offer this Sunday, October 29. “We will wait to review the government filing before commenting. But we will still say this: to get out of the mess in which it has placed itself, the government has only one thing to do: come back with a substantial offer and stop its attacks, particularly on the issue of retirement. A new insufficient offer accompanied by another media operation would be received like a slap in the face by the women and men operating public services. The height of the strike mandates granted by the members testifies to the height of expectations in our networks regarding the outcome of this negotiation,” declared the representatives of the Common Front, François Enault, first vice-president of the CSN, Éric Gingras, president of the CSQ, Magali Picard, president of the FTQ, and Robert Comeau, president of the APTS, at a press conference this morning in Montreal.

“We were clear about our intention to exercise the strike mandate and strategy voted on by the workers we represent to reach a satisfactory agreement. Beyond the cross-exchanges on pruning at sectoral tables, the reality is that nothing is moving at the central table and on salary issues“.

For many months, the Common Front has been on every platform to remind the government that its offers are not going through and that proposing to workers to maintain the status quo constitutes the perfect recipe to ignite the powder. Given the state in which our public networks find themselves, maintaining an insulting salary offer, attacks on the pension plan and demanding more flexibility at all costs is an aberration. If the government wants to be an employer of choice, this must be reflected at the negotiating tables.

“After a year of negotiations, dozens of meetings at the tables, many discussions through the media, mobilization and visibility actions throughout Quebec, a massive demonstration which brought together 100,000 people in the streets of Montreal, and now there are 95% mandates in favor of a strike which could go as far as an indefinite general strike, we must believe that the government is waiting for a first day of strike before moving, however distressing that may be. But let it be clear: he is responsible for the announcement we are making today,” added the union leaders.

“We are aware of the considerable impacts that a strike has on the daily lives of Quebecers. But we know that the population no longer wants to live with deficient public services and a constant labor shortage. We therefore sincerely hope that this will be enough to seriously move the government and limit the inconvenience. But if the message was not heard, a second sequence could be carried out, which would constitute the largest strike movement the public sector has seen in 50 years. »

In the event of the outbreak of a strike on November 6, the Common Front specifies that essential services will be ensured.
For more information on this negotiation: frontcommun.org.

Noémi Desrochers, CSN	Cellulaire : 514 216-1825	noemi.desrochers@csn.qc.ca
Maude Messier, CSQ	Cellulaire : 514 213-0770	messier.maude@lacsq.org
Jean Laverdière, FTQ	Cellulaire : 514 893-7809	jlaverdiere@ftq.qc.ca
Maxime Clément, APTS	Cellulaire : 514 792-0481	mclement@aptsq.com