At a general meeting on Friday, October 13, the 1302 elementary school teachers of the Centre de services scolaires des Trois-Lacs and members of the Syndicat de l'enseignement de la région de Vaudreuil (SERV-CSQ) voted in favor of a strike mandate that could go as far as an unlimited general strike.

"Teachers here are in the same frame of mind as all public service workers. The wage offers are disappointing and would mean impoverishment at the end of the agreement. The government wants to attack the pension plan and give school administrators more management rights. These offers will not solve the crisis in education, which translates into a lack of service for students with special needs, under-investment in francization, a shortage of qualified teachers and conditions of practice that are not sufficiently commensurate with what teachers want to offer their students," said Véronique Lefebvre, President of SERV-CSQ.

In recent weeks, the Syndicat de l'enseignement des Seigneuries and the Syndicat du personnel de soutien des Trois-Lacs have also adopted an unlimited general strike mandate that has been described as historic.

"The expectations of the members we represent are high. The government must take note of the results of the votes of the Front commun syndical, which represents more than 420,000 workers," added Ms. Lefebvre.

Ms. Lefebvre emphasizes that no one wants to go on strike. "All we want is to go out and teach, and to feel equal to the mission entrusted to us. To achieve this, we need major investment, but not just in concrete to renovate and build schools. We need to listen to the solutions proposed by teachers at the bargaining tables, and the government needs to invest massively to keep our people and to counter the ever-increasing number of departures."