The unions making up the Common Front (CSN, CSQ, FTQ and APTS) met with their respective delegations in Quebec City on Tuesday, December 19, to take stock of the state of negotiations and the way forward. If no agreement is reached by the end of 2023, an unlimited general strike will be called as early as the beginning of 2024. 

Faced with the fact that no agreement had been reached by the time of the proceedings, the 1,500 or so people in attendance reiterated two important points.

Firstly, that the negotiating teams would spare no effort over the coming days to try and reach a satisfactory agreement. The Common Front's objective remains to obtain a tentative settlement before 2024. An agreement by that date is still possible.

Secondly, the delegates unanimously reiterated that if no agreement is reached by the end of the year, the Common Front will promptly call an unlimited general strike (GGI) at the appropriate time in early 2024.

Status of talks

While discussions at the central table continue to make progress, the issues of wages, insurance, regional disparities and skilled workers remain unresolved.

A number of contradictory messages have been circulating in the media. In this regard, we would like to make it clear that we have indicated to management that we are open to an agreement longer than three years, as long as it meets our demands for enrichment and catch-up. We did not put a figure on these demands, but rather indicated to the government that our openness was linked to two conditions:

- That it guarantees the protection of purchasing power;

- That it brings enrichment. The latter was not quantified, in order to leave room for negotiation at the table.

Discussions on insurance and specialized workers are continuing. The Common Front has been extremely clear with its counterparts at the table: to conclude an agreement at the central table, there will have to be progress on these elements, as well as on working conditions at the various sectoral tables.

For several days now, the Common Front has been proposing solutions to meet the government's challenges. It will be important for the government to find solutions to workers' priorities too. Given the current state of the networks, this is no time for the status quo, let alone for attacks.

In closing, the Common Front invited its members to take advantage of the holiday season to try and recharge their batteries. Should the group find itself in a negotiating context early next year, the 420,000 workers of the Common Front will be called upon to contribute. "The involvement of each and every one of us is essential," concludes the entity.