(Quebec) The President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, threw a wrench into the mix at the end of a quiet parliamentary session. She announces her intention to reform the way in which public sector collective agreement negotiations are conducted.
Posted at 10:37 a.m.
Updated at 10:51 a.m.
Sonia LeBel took advantage of a ministerial declaration at the Salon rouge on Wednesday to announce her intention to submit a project in this direction. The legislative document will be tabled upon return from the holiday break.
Focused “mainly on the question of salaries”, the current model of negotiations “no longer reflects at all the concerns of employees or government priorities”, she then explained.
Three objectives will guide the reform, she continued, namely:
- Simplify the negotiation structure
- Review employer governance
- Adapt the diet to the arrival of Santé Québec
The negotiation regime for collective agreements in the public and parapublic sectors has not been reviewed for 40 years.
-The latest renegotiations of collective agreements were marked by a long strike by teachers who are members of the Autonomous Teaching Federation (FAE).
Quebec deplores the rigidity of the process which would have prevented it, in particular, from addressing several issues related to the working conditions of its employees at the “central table” where salary issues were discussed.
Opposition parties quickly reacted by deeming the goal of the reform laudable, but questioning the government’s real intentions.
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