Another Quebec daycare union to go on strike on October 18-19

“At $ 19 an hour to start … I could also work in a restaurant or warehouse,” the union president said.

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More daycare workers are expected to go on strike on October 18 and 19, unless an agreement on a new contract is reached by then.

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In a statement released Thursday afternoon, the Syndicat québécois des Employées et Employés de service (SQEES-FTQ) announced that “local unions voted for a 10-day strike mandate to be exercised at the appropriate time,” with the first two on October 18 and 19.

SQEES-FTQ President Sylvie Nelson said the main problem is wages.

“At $ 19 an hour to start, even though we need three years of college education to become educators, you could also work in a restaurant or warehouse,” he said. “Those jobs require fewer skills and offer higher wages than a job at a CPE.”

Nelson noted that the jobs are “almost entirely” for women, particularly immigrant women, whose value is not recognized.

“These talks are the occasion for the government to say no to large-scale discrimination.”

The FIPEQ union of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec has already announced strikes in nurseries on October 12 and 13 if the government offer scheduled for Thursday is insufficient.

The Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux, affiliated with the CSN union, announced a second and third day of strike, on October 14 and 15.