By Chantal Sundaram The Common Front of half a million Quebec public sector workers that coordinated negotiations and general strikes between health, education and government employees last fall was an inspiration. Even though some members of the Common Front rejected the deal on salaries negotiated with government at the central table, in the end they Continue readingReflecting on Quebec’s Common Front
Quebec
By Robert Green Prior to the holidays, teachers, parents and students in Quebec received some hopeful news: the Common Front, consisting of unions representing over 400,000 of the province’s half a million public sector workers, had overcome their final hurdle and arrived at an agreement on salaries. The news was filled with stories of satisfied Continue readingQuebec’s Proposed Deal With Public Sector Workers: A Hollow Victory for Unions?
By Nora Loreto Public sector negotiations have been going on for months. From the start of the bargaining (indeed, from the start of the Liberal mandate), it’s been clear that the Liberal government would not bargain in good faith. They’ve barely bargained at all. Unions, anticipating this at the start of negotiations, have built an Continue readingWorkers in Québec are in the middle of an historic moment
By Sonia Singh After provincial bargaining stalled, 400,000 public sector workers across Quebec walked out in October and November on rolling one and two day strikes. The government is proposing pension cuts and only a 3 percent salary increase over five years. Since coming to power in April 2014 it has already begun cuts to Continue readingQuebec’s rolling strike wave
By Robert Green As if to remind teachers of the reason they would be walking the picket-line, many teachers throughout Quebec woke up on the first of several rotating strike days to the news that the government had found $1.3 billion dollars to once again bail-out Bombardier. For months the Quebec government had been telling Continue readingQuebec teachers expose government hypocrisy in public sector bargaining
A cinematic tract, a personal, activist work by a socially committed Québec filmmaker, this is a frontal assault, fraught with exacerbated emotion and concentrated philosophy, on a “consumer society” viewed as the ultimate embodiment of evil. This film was made during an exceptional, feverish period of popular revolt, against the backdrop of the 1970 October Continue readingWeekend Video: 24 Hours or More
This July 11, marks the 25th anniversary of the beginning of the Oka Crisis which became one of the most publicized land claim disputes between First Nations and the Canadian government of the late 20th Century. The Mohawk in Kanehsatake have been challenging land claims since 1868 and colonialism before that. On a July day Continue readingWeekend Video: Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance
R&F.ca has launched its Spring fundraising drive. Our goal is to raise $6,660 by May 1, 2015. Click here to find out how you can donate. By Nora Loreto Despite the rosy picture painted by many of the English mainstream media in Québec, the budget of Carlos Leitao, Quebec’s Minister of Finance, is not good Continue readingFighting austerity in Quebec
By Robert Green During his most recent election campaign Quebec Premier Phillipe Couillard stated that protecting the quality of education would be one of his government’s main priorities. It is now clear, Phillipe Couillard was not telling the truth. Since coming into office he and his hapless Minister of Education Yves Bolduc have done nothing Continue readingAusterity for Quebec’s schools
CEO pay soars | Storms ahead for Quebec labour | Ontario mental health staff cuts | Castlegar agreement ratified | Corner Brook firefighters | Ontario public service bargaining | Migrant workers in Lebanon From RankandFile.ca: In case you missed them during the holidays! Happy New Year from RankandFile.ca 2014: The Canadian Labour Movement in Review Continue readingR&F’s Labour News Update – January 5, 2015
By Nora Loreto On Saturday, November 29, Québecers braved the cold and took to the streets of Québec and Montréal. Buses were sent hundreds of kilometres across the province to the two cities, where workers from all sectors marched against the province’s planed austerity measures. The march was organized by a coalition of community, student Continue readingBill 3 passes, but anti-austerity fight continues in Québec
Quebec pensions fight | Tembec strike | How WSIB has failed | Sexual harassment in the workplace | Rail fatigue | Western Canada workplace safety | Ste-Thérèse Paccar lockout | Muzzled scientists at bargaining table | Green jobs vs tar sands Quebec unions slam pension bill, vow new round of protests Marian Scott, Montreal Gazette Continue readingR&F’s Labour News Update – December 8, 2014