Striking teachers and their supporters hold a rally in front of Premier François Legault's office, Friday, Dec. 22, 2023, in Montreal. The Quebec government has reached a tentative deal with a union representing about 40 per cent of the province's teachers, who have been on strike since Nov. 23. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
MONTREAL – A union representing 40 per cent of Quebec teachers says it reached a deal in principle with the government and is ending a strike that has shut around 800 schools since Nov. 23.
Fédération autonome de l’enseignement – or FAE – said on social media tonight that it spent the day analyzing the tentative deal with the province and will recommend it to its members for approval.
Details of the agreement have not been released, and the FAE says it will present the deal to members for a vote during general assemblies after the holiday break.
The FAE, which represents more than 66,000 teachers, took the most hard line out of all the public sector unions negotiating new contracts with the government when it launched an unlimited general strike at the end of November.
Earlier today, the government announced it had reached tentative deals on salaries with an alliance of unions, excluding the FAE, representing 420,000 public sector employees, including teachers and health-care workers.
The only major labour group without any sort of agreement is a nurses union with about 80,000 members – Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec – which said today that negotiations are ongoing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 28, 2023.
