CPE workers | The SQEES concludes an agreement in principle with Quebec

The Quebec Union of Service Employees (SQEES) reached an agreement in principle with Quebec on Monday regarding the collective agreement for workers at Early Childhood Centers (CPE) that it represents.

The SQEES, accompanied by the Steelworkers union, both affiliated with the FTQ, specified in a press release that the agreement in principle will be presented to members for adoption in January 2025.

Union members carried out three days of strike in December, which affected a total of 19 CPEs.

The president of the SQEES-FTQ, Sylvie Nelson, said she was satisfied with the agreement in principle.

“We wanted to be recognized, we wanted our work to be recognized and for us to be able to resolve certain issues,” she said in an interview.

“Our negotiating committee worked today [lundi] all day to actually reach an agreement in principle,” she added.

The collective agreement for CPE workers expired in March 2023. The dispute mainly concerned salaries.

“I am announcing, with Minister Suzanne Roy, an agreement in principle with two unions affiliated with the FTQ for more than 730 people working in CPE,” wrote the president of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, in a publication on the network social X, Monday evening. She added that she and Minister Roy will not make comments until members have voted on the agreement.

On Sunday, it was the Federation of Early Childhood Workers (FIPEQ), affiliated with the CSQ, which concluded an agreement in principle with Quebec.