Striking teachers block ports in Montreal and Quebec City CBC News

Members of striking teachers unionfederation of autonomous sciences The FAE blocked access to the ports of Montreal and Quebec City early Thursday morning as negotiations with the provincial government appeared to stall this week.

The union, which represents the province’s 66,000 elementary and secondary teachers, rejected Quebec’s latest proposal Wednesday night, calling it a “smokescreen” and a major setback to its demands. The FAE leadership has accused the government of a strategy of exhausting teachers, who have been protesting since November 23.

Union members also blocked access to the Casino du Lac-Leamyin Gatineauat at 8:45 a.m. Thursday. Union officials there also encouraged members and local residents to demonstrate outside the Outaouais offices of the Coalition Avenir Qubec MNA on Thursday afternoon.

Around 6 a.m., teachers began blocking the entrance to the Port of Montreal at the corner of Notre-Dame Street and De Boucherville Street in Montreal, and then completely blocked Notre-Dame Street.

Several trucks lined the streets as they were unable to enter port facilities, slowing traffic in both directions.The demonstration ended around 8:30 a.m.

The Montreal Port Authority said the operation had a “significant impact” on port operations. Between 500 and 800 trucks, representing about 25% of the port’s morning traffic, were unable to trade.

“The ship that François Legault and the government have taken us on is rocking. It is time for François Legault to shoulder his responsibilities as head of state and get this ship safely to port,” Patrick Vidal said. the FAE’s vice-president of politics told Radio-Canada.

“Enough, enough. It’s time for François Legault to listen to us.”

In an interview with Radio Canadaall morningFAE president Mlanie Hubert said despite progress in pay talks, core issues such as working conditions and class sizes remained unresolved.

Students have been out of school for four weeks, and Hubert accused the government of slowing down discussions. She said teachers were eager to return to the classroom, but only if a mutually beneficial agreement was reached.

“Our members have been taking to the streets for weeks, but negotiations are not going the way we hoped,” Hubert said.

Both the union and the government have said they hope to reach a deal before the holidays, and Hubert said she remains hopeful that is possible.

Barry Adelin, a professor of sociology at McGill University who specializes in labor issues, agrees.

“When it comes to labor negotiations, the darkest moment is usually before dawn,” he told CBC Montreal.dawn.

Adelin said it would be a “huge step backwards” for the government to enact back-to-work legislation.

“It undermines collective bargaining and sweeps everything under the rug rather than addressing the underlying issues that led to the crisis in the first place,” he said.

Adelin said popular support for the strikers remained high, especially among those most affected like parents, who “understand the link between good public services and good public sector wages and working conditions”.

Treasury chairwoman Sonia Lebel declined to comment on the strike action and the rejected offer.

The coalition of public sector unions, known as the Common Front, which represents 420,000 workers, has threatened open-ended strikes in January and called for a 72-hour blitz of talks with the government this week.