Teachers are demanding salary hike

Despite recent pay increases for teachers, their pay is still below the Canadian average, blamed the Autonomous Federation of Education, which is seeking an 8% salary catch-up and an annual index of at least 4% to address this. Counter inflation.

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

Their collective agreement expires at the end of March 2023.

“We know these are significant requests, but in the event of a shortage, we also need to have salaries accordingly, affirms its president Melanie Hubert. We are not asking to be paid the best in Canada, we want to be able to compare ourselves to the Canadian average, which seems reasonable to me.

In the present case, the pay check balance is heavy, Ms. Hubert warned: “In the past, the teachers told us a lot: we need more air in our classes, our working conditions, this is very important. This year, the teachers challenged us tremendously on the salary because the cost of living is for everyone. Teachers are not an exception.

Improve working conditions

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

“People are very jealous of our summer vacations, but we don’t have any flexible schedules, you have to be there Monday through Friday. We have to make time to go to appointments for our children who are struggling or for our aging parents,” Ms. Hubert said.

Increasing leave for family reasons as well as increasing general flexibility and especially reducing working hours, no longer authorized by some employers, can make a difference, she explains.

FAE calls for more balanced classes, particularly by meeting the needs of particular students who are struggling or opening up groups from immigrant backgrounds.

Significant gains

During the last negotiations, Ms. Hubert agreed.

“But this is not the time to stop, she said. We must continue to improve the service, we are headed in the right direction, but we have not yet reached the right destination. We need more because public school and Quebec students deserve better,” she said.

In an interview on Paul Arcand’s microphone on Monday at 98.5 FM, Prime Minister Francois Legault, for his part, said “we want teachers with more seniority in the more difficult schools”.

However, FAE categorically closes the door to questioning the principle of seniority in the school network. “The goal is to make things fair for everyone and provide services to help teachers,” Melanie Hubert said.

Compensation of teachers

Early growth

• In Quebec: $53,541
• Canadian average: $58,443

At the end of career:

• In Quebec: $92,027
• Canadian average: $95,281

Source: Autonomous Federation of Education (Annual Salary).