Despite the sub-zero temperatures, members of the Syndicat de l'enseignement des Seigneuries (SES) were out in force by the dozen or so this Wednesday morning, November 29, in Vaudreuil-Dorion to make their voices heard. 

Last September, SES members voted 96% in favor of an unlimited strike. So, come rain or shine, members turned out in large numbers to take part in the visibility activities organized by the SES. 

Starting at 7:30 a.m., members were invited to take part in a visibility activity held in two locations: on Harwood Boulevard at the corner of Saint-Henri Street, and on Saint-Charles Avenue at the corner of Cité-des-Jeunes Boulevard. 

Then, at 9:15 a.m., the two groups of demonstrators, made up of secondary school teachers and vocational and adult education teachers, moved to the Cité-des-Jeunes campus, where a rally was held and soup was distributed to those concerned. 

Fighting for their working conditions 

"Remember that we are fighting to improve our working conditions and to be able to offer better service to students. We're also asking for a better composition of our class and a reduction in the burden of our work. It's not just a question of pay, far from it," SES President Martine Dumas told strikers taking part in the rally on the grounds of Cité-des-Jeunes high school. 

She reiterated that, over the years, teachers' workloads have grown ever heavier. "We get hammered by management that this is normal, that it's part of our profession. By dint of being told so, we've agreed to take more and more on our shoulders. So much so that the government has taken it for granted. It's time for that to change, and that's what we're fighting for. The time has come for teachers to be freed up from their duties to take more care of students with special or particular needs," she added. 

Two distinguished guests alongside SES members 

Two members of the executive of the Fédération autonome de l'enseignement (FAE) joined SES members for this Wednesday's event. Annie-Christine Tardif, Vice-President, Professional Life, was on hand with her colleague David Hamel, Vice-President, Secretariat, Treasury and Administration. 

The former made a point of addressing the demonstrators. During the last two strikes, she was part of the committee negotiating with the government to renew the employment contracts of its members. So she's well aware of what's going on at the bargaining table. 

"Things are moving a little at the moment at the negotiating table. Around the table, there are stakeholders from the government via the Treasury Board representative, but also representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Fédération des centers scolaires du Québec, who are managers. The latter are very much aware of what's going on in your workplace. They see the conditions in which you work, and they see the teachers who are increasingly falling on the sword. Instead of helping you, they're trying to get more rights to manage the workforce in the field," Ms. Tardif argued in her speech. 

She went on to say that representatives of the Fédération des Centres de services would like to be able to use their CSS's human resources as they see fit. "They would like to be able to move a teacher elsewhere in the CSS territory to make up for the lack of teachers where they are. But this aspect of the job has to be discussed locally. That's why FAE President Mélanie Hubert is currently in Quebec City to lobby the CSS Federation representatives to withdraw from the bargaining table. That's what's happening right now," she concluded, to the applause of the members.