(The following article is from the April 1-15, 2010 issue of People's Voice, Canada's leading communist newspaper. Articles can be reprinted free if the source is credited. Subscription rates in Canada: $30/year, or $15 low income rate; for U.S. readers - $45 US per year; other overseas readers - $45 US or $50 CDN per year. Send to: People's Voice, c/o PV Business Manager, 706 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC, V5L 3J1.)

PV Montreal Bureau

On March 20, days before the expiry of collective agreements for employees of public and parastatal sectors, an estimated 75,000 members and friends of the Common Front, from all regions of Quebec, marched in the streets of Montreal. The united demonstration by Quebec's three main union federations, SISP, CSN and FTQ (Secrétariat intersyndicale des services publics, Confederation of National Trade Unions, and Quebec Federation of Labour) reminded the Charest government that the solutions to improve public services must involve negotiation.

     Comprising 475,000 persons employed in public services, this is the biggest Common Front seen in several decades in Quebec. They include government workers and unionized employees of the health, education and other sectors. With some 300,000 members, including most of the province's teachers, the SISP is the largest component of the Common Front, united in this massive struggle with the CSN and the Quebec Federation of Labour, which includes CUPE affiliates.

     Quebec Treasury Board president Monique Gagnon-Tremblay quickly called for a "blitz of negotiations" to reach an agreement by March 31, as desired by the Common Front. The union leaders welcomed this announcement, but said they would "judge the tree by its fruit."

     "On other occasions, including last February 19, the President of the Treasury Board announced a period of intensive negotiations," said the Common Front representatives. "We remain cautious and next week we will see the level of government commitment. Trade union members of the Common Front are available to negotiate aggressively, but there will be no global agreement without agreements at the sectoral level." In the Common Front's view, this requires the government to show good faith by withdrawing some of the major irritants that impede progress.

     "These negotiations are crucial for the future of public services in health, education for human security and environmental protection. The government must hear the message of the thousands of citizens gathered today to seek concrete solutions to problems encountered in workplaces that have a direct impact on services to the population," said the president of the CSN, Claudette Carbonneau.

     "In the past, the public sector was the envy of many other sectors of society, but this is no longer the case today," added Quebec Federation of Labour (FTQ) President Michel Arsenault. "Wage declines year after year and deteriorating working conditions have ensured that the public sector has lost its former glory."

     Arsenault points out that "in good years, salaries were frozen at 2% per year," leaving public sector workers falling behind the cost of living. "If we want to keep our services, we must pay the wages that this requires," he says.

     For the Common Front, "it is urgent to make a turn to ensure the sustainability of public services to attract and to retain a skilled workforce," said SISP spokesperson Dominique Verreault. "The staff shortage is already being felt in all categories of jobs for several years. It will worsen because of massive departures to retirement, poor working conditions and uncompetitive remuneration. The health, education and public service sectors are less attractive, and many are seduced by private companies that offer better working conditions and higher wages."

     According to Claudette Carbonneau, CSN members simply want a good collective agreement. "Our members are tired of living on love and water... They are burnt out... They want respect," she said.

     But the Common Front leadership is not optimistic about the government's intentions.

     The CSQ, one of the largest affiliates of the SISP, said on March 19 it had "less and less hope" of reaching a settlement by March 31, the expiration date of the current collective agreement, which was unilaterally imposed by the government in December 2005.

     "We continue to make the necessary efforts at the negotiating table, but we can never reach an agreement if the employer insists on wanting to cut back on our working conditions, so as to bring us below the conditions under which we are currently covered by decree," CSQ president Réjean Parent said.

     The Common Front is demanding wage increases of 2% per year to protect the purchasing power of employees. In addition, it wants an extra "remedial pay" increase of 49 cents per hour on average, or 1.75% of annual earnings, to make wages in the public sector more competitive. This would total 11.25% over a three year agreement.

     Like other right-wing governments, the Charest Liberals are using the economic crisis as a club to attack public sector workers. They claim that the Common Front demands would cost an extra $8 billion over three years.

     Instead, the government wants to limit pay and benefits to a 7% increase over five years, with the salary raise held to just 5%. This offer could be "enhanced" by 0.75% for each of the last two years if economic growth is higher than expected.

     The unions calculate that this "offer" would result in a wage decline of 8% over a five year period. In other words, the public sector workers would be compelled to accept drastically reduced pay and living standards to allow the Charest government get out of its fiscal deficit situation.