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Strike action possible as Cree School Board union says workers left out in the cold

The union representing northern Quebec Cree School Board workers say strike action is on the table, as negotiations stall while their counterparts in Nunavik reach agreements-in-principle.

Kativik board reach agreements-in-principle; Cree negotiations "going nowhere"

Bell, Susan · CBC News ·
As their Nunavik counterparts reach agreements-in-principle, the union representing Cree School Board workers says it's left with no alternative but to consider ways to increase pressure, including work stoppages and a strike. (Susan Bell/ CBC News)

The union representing school board workers in both Inuit and Cree communities in northern Quebec says the provincial government is leaving Cree School Board employees behind and risks creating unacceptable gaps in benefits between northern workers, many of whom are Indigenous. 

Agreements-in-principle have been reached with school teachers, professionals and support staff working at the Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, the school board in Nunavik. 

Among the gains are improvements to housing and food benefits, and annual hiring and retention bonuses for local workers, said Line Camerlain, vice-president of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ).

"We have made historic gains for local [Inuit] employees and employees who come from the South," said Camerlain, adding the union has been fighting to narrow the benefit gap between local and southern employees for years. 

We have made historic gains.- Line Camerlain, V.P. CSQ union

Among the gains are a $3,000 annual signing and retention bonus, a cashable food transportation allowance, transportation benefits and a housing allowance for locally hired staff. 

Among support staff at the Kativik board, for example, 70 percent of the workers are Inuit, said Camerlain. 

Help with recruitment

Sarah Aloupa, the president of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, feels the gains will make it easier to attract workers. 

Sarah Aloupa, president of Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, says the agreements-in-principle reached by the board will make it easier to recruit local staff. (Kativik Ilisarniliriniq)

"The agreement [s] ... bring us closer to bridging the benefits and working conditions gap that affects the unionized support staff we recruit locally," said Aloupa, in a release. 

While happy for the gains for Kativik employees, Camerlain says it is in sharp contrast to what is happening in negotiations for their counterparts working for the Cree School Board. 

"Negotiations are going nowhere," said Camerlain Wednesday, adding the government is involved in "surface bargaining" with no real effort to overcome problems. 

Next week, Cree School Board workers will have been without a contract for two years, she said.

Inequalities even across Cree communities

Even among Cree School Board workers, there are gaps in benefits, said Camerlain. For example, workers in Chisasibi, Mistissini, Waswanipi, and Oujé-Bougoumou don't have access to food allowances that Cree School Board workers in other Cree communities get. Camerlain says the inequality needs to end.

The executive of the CSQ is actively discussing ways to increase pressure, up to and including work stoppages and a strike, said Camerlain. They will be consulting members in the days and weeks ahead.

"We will increase the pressure, we have no other choice," she said, adding they need a settlement sooner rather than later to ensure a good start to the 2022-2023 school year this fall.

Both Cree and Inuit school boards in northern Quebec are calling for their students to be exempt from Bill 96. The controversial bill overhauling the Charter of the French Language was passed in the Quebec National Assembly on Tuesday. Indigenous leaders say it will make it even harder for their students to succeed in post-secondary. (Cree School Board)

"I hope the agreement with Kativik will put pressure to resolve negotiations for the Cree School Board," said Camerlain.

The agreements for workers with Kativik Ilisarniliriniq in Nunavik still need to be ratified by members, something that will happen in the weeks ahead, said Camerlain.

The Ministry of Education declined to comment, citing ongoing negotiations. 

And a spokesperson with Quebec's Treasury Board said in an email that several meetings have taken place since 2019 and it is not usual for negotiations with public sector workers in the north to take longer.

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