Montra006c, Wednesday, September 22, 2004 A meeting to be attended by all representatives of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), the largest FTQ affiliate, will be held on November 4. The agenda for this union study: the problem posed by public private partnerships (P3) and their repercussions.
Since its election, the Charest Government has often repeated that it intends to turn more and more frequently to P3 for the provision of services to the population. A parliamentary committee on the creation of a P3 agency will be sitting in Qub0065c City, beginning on October 5. This clearly expressed prejudice favouring the P3s, and its creating an unhealthy climate in many workplaces.
The meeting on November 4 is an exceptional move for CUPE. Normally, all its affiliated locals come together for a bi-annual convention. However, the Government’s intentions concerning the P3s are such that CUPE’s directors consider that all the locals must take stock of this issue now. The meeting in November is supported by a provision of CUPE’s constitution and by-laws which has only been used once before in the union’s 41 years of existence.
In this struggle against the P3s, CUPE-Qub0065c has a lead over other provincial unions, since it has the advantage of expertise developed elsewhere in Canada where recourse to P3s has been more frequent than in Qub0065c.
With close to 100,000 members in Qub0065c, CUPE is active in several sectors including health and social services, hydroelectricity, municipalities, provincial corporations and public organizations, urban and air transportation, universities, education and communications. It is also the largest FTQ affiliate.
This press release and other information are posted on the Internet at scfp.qc.ca
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SOURCE: CANADIAN UNION OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES (FTQ)