CSQ college federations denounce the indifference of the CPNC
MONTRÉAL, Sept. 15, 2022 /CNW Telbec/ - Over eight months since their collective agreement was signed, the three college federations of the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), the Fédération de l'enseignement collégial (FEC-CSQ), the Fédération du personnel de soutien de l'enseignement supérieur (FPSES-CSQ) and the Fédération du personnel professionnel des collèges (FPPC-CSQ), and their 1350 anglophone members are still waiting for the English-language version of the agreement that the Comité patronal de négociation des collèges (CPNC) is required to send them.
The presidents of the three federations, Youri Blanchet (FEC-CSQ), Valérie Fontaine (FPSES-CSQ) and Éric Cyr (FPPC-CSQ), claim that this unprecedented and unjustifiable delay indicates an unacceptable lack of respect on the part of the CPNC for its English-speaking members. "The translation of amendments made to the collective agreement is the responsibility of the CPNC. We understand that we must allow for a certain waiting period, but we have never experienced such a long delay. We are within days of launching another round of negotiations and our anglophone members have not even received the new agreement adopted in December 2021," explained Youri Blanchet.
The president of the FPSES-CSQ pointed out that in recent months, each of the union organizations called upon the CPNC to remind it of its responsibilities. "Whether French-speaking or English-speaking, all our members have the same right of access to their collective agreement. The current situation has lasted for long enough and the CPNC must take the necessary measures and fulfil its duties toward all our members. It must be understood that we are not talking about translating the entire text of the collective agreements, only the amendments," added Valérie Fontaine.
Éric Cyr, the president of the FPPC-CSQ, said that the unions of the three federations have run out of patience with the indifference shown by the CPNC and that a set of grievances should soon be filed requiring the employer to respect the commitments defined in the collective agreements. "The longer the CPNC delays in delivering last year's amendments to our anglophone members, the more it affects its credibility with all our members. If the CPNC has a problem with the availability of translation resources, we ask that it prioritize this issue, which is fundamental for our members in anglophone colleges," he stated.
The CSQ represents close to 200,000 members, including some 125,000 education employees. The CSQ has 11 federations that unite some 240 affiliated unions and it is affiliated with the AREQ (CSQ), l'Association des retraitées et retraités de l'éducation et des autres services publics du Québec. The CSQ is also active in health and social services, educational childcare services, as well as municipal, recreational, cultural, community and communications services.
Twitter: CSQ_Centrale
SOURCE Fédération de l'enseignement collégial (FEC-CSQ)
Claude Girard, Communications advisor, Cell: 514 237-4432, Email: [email protected]
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