The Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers (QPAT) and the Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE-CSQ) announce that they have reached an agreement on the final texts of the December 22, 2023, settlement proposal. This agreement means that the texts will be formally signed in the next few days, enabling it to come into force at the start of the new school year. The government must also pay teachers’ salary increases retroactive to April 1, 2023, within 60 days of the official signature.
“The drafting of texts is a crucial part of negotiations, as it involves translating agreed-upon principles into precise wording. We would like to congratulate our experienced negotiating teams, who worked tirelessly while navigating various complexities,” remarked Josée Scalabrini, President of FSE-CSQ, and Steven LeSueur, President of QPAT.
The settlement reached by FSE-CSQ and QPAT includes an increase in steps 1 to 15 of the salary scale, along with the general parameters of salary increase of 17.4% over five years as negotiated at the central table for all workers in all sectors. It also includes $74 million in support for classroom composition and several measures to reduce the workload, such as the possibility of teleworking for one-quarter of all pedagogical days, the addition of classroom assistants, and the automatic recognition of a minimum of one hour of support per week (not included in the timetable) as part of the educational workload for all elementary teachers.
Although the settlement does achieve some gains, both FSE-CSQ and QPAT agree that there is still work to be done to improve teachers’ working conditions.
Protracted Negotiations for Northern Staff
The two organizations also wish to denounce the prolonged negotiations for teachers who are part of the Association of Employees of Northern Quebec (AENQ-CSQ) given the significant needs in the communities they serve.