Quebec teachers holding votes for possible strike
86% of teachers at Riverside School Board on South Shore vote to hold 6 days of strikes
Teachers from schools across the province are gearing up for the possibility of rotating strikes in light of stalled contract negotiations with the Quebec government.
- Riverside School Board teachers vote in favour of strike mandate
- Thousands of Quebec teachers to strike for 2 days this fall
- Extra-curricular activities put on hold in some Montreal schools
- Students, parents, staff protest against public school spending cuts
On Tuesday, teachersat the Riverside School Board on Montreal's South Shore voted in favour of a six-day strike mandate over stalled contract negotiations with the Quebec government.
Eighty-six per cent ofthe 460 teachers who cast a ballot voted in favour of the mandate.
Riverside School Boardrepresents 25 schools andabout 850 teachers onthe South Shore.
Meanwhile, the Fdration autonome de l'enseignement(FAE)a union federation representingteachers at French-language schoolssaid last week that 34,000 of its members would hold a one-day strike on Sept. 30.
That strike day is expected to affect275,000 students in 10 Montreal-area school boards.
The FAE will hold two other, non-consecutiverotating strike days in October.
Quebec's teachers have been without a contract since April.
What the province is asking for:
- Increase in teacher-student ratio.
- Elimination of allocated funds toward schools' programs for special-needs children.
- Abolition of 800 resource-teacher and special-education teacher jobs.
- Salary freeze for two years (the teachers are asking for 13.5 per cent over three years).
- Cuts to employee pension plans.
Dates of strike votes for Montreal-area English schools and boards
- Chteauguay Valley (New Frontiers): Sept. 16
- Champlain College: Sept. 16
- John Abbott College: Sept. 21
- SirWilfrid Laurier School Board: Sept.21-22
- Eastern Townships School Board: Sept. 23
- Lester B. Pearson School Board: Sept.24-25
- English Montreal School Board: Sept.24
- Vanier College: Sept. 25
- Dawson College:Sept. 28-29