School support employees, members of CUPE Quebec, signed their new collective agreement with the Government of Quebec on Thursday afternoon. The three-year contract runs from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2023. It calls for wage hikes of 2 per cent each year and improvements to the salary structure to take effect in 2022. Improvements to working conditions will make it easier to attract and retain personnel.

“Central table” negotiations, which dealt mainly with wages, were held under the auspices of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ).

The second component known as the “sectorial tables” looked at working conditions. The results of the sectorial negotiations held at the school support table can be summarized as follows:

  • Improvement of the employer’s contribution to the basic health insurance plan covering part-time employees.
  • Possibility of converting one additional sick day per year to personal leave. Three days per year can now be converted instead of two.
  • Amalgamation of the annual training budget associated with each employee. The joint committee’s and the employer’s shares will both be managed by the joint committee.
  • Creation of a management budget for interns and the training of personnel working with students with serious behavioural disorders.
  • Addition of four new job titles eligible for the specialized workers’ premium.
  • Maintenance of the specialized workers’ premium until September 2023.

“We obtained an exceptional agreement thanks to the mobilization of our members. The wage catch-up for the lower salaried workers will do a great deal of good. In conjunction with the negotiations, the agreement to maintain pay equity, which was reached in June, will really help bolster the recognition of employees.  We are well on our way to improving public services in education. We are already turning our attention to the next negotiations to continue making advances, which will be indispensable given the labour shortages everywhere in Quebec,” said Richard Delisle, president of the Conseil provincial du soutien scolaire (CPSS) of CUPE.