Quebec's 'common front' public sector unions will vote on new contract

MONTREAL An alliance of Quebec unions representing 420,000 public sector workers says it will take a new tentative contract agreement to its members for approval. The labour alliance representing the workers confirmed today that its member groups will present the agreement in principle to the workers during assemblies to be held between mid January and mid February.

The union leaders confirmed the deal reached Dec. 28 includes salary hikes of 17.4 per cent over five years, as well as improvements to group insurance, vacation and retirement programs. The news marks another step towards resolving the labour dispute between Quebec and the union alliance known as the common front, which is made up of four unions representing hundreds of thousands of workers in sectors like education and health care.

The common front, which is the largest labour group negotiating with the province, has launched 11 days of strikes since November to pressure the government to reach a deal. Quebec has also previously reached a deal in principle with a teachers union that has about 66,000 members, but is still negotiating with a major health care worker union with 80,000 members.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 7, 2024..