They say parents will be notified at least 10 days in advance of any strike action.
Another union representing daycare workers has announced that its members have adopted a pressure tactics mandate that could extend to five days of strike action.
The FSSS’s strike mandate has a very open form that will adapt to the context of the negotiations.
“The form could be diverse. It could be later openings, it could be earlier closings; it could be full days” up to five days, explained Lucie Longchamp, vice-president of the FSSS, in an interview.
If necessary, parents will be notified at least 10 days in advance in order to find alternative childcare options.
The use of pressure tactics will depend on the pace and progress at the negotiating table, Longchamp said. But she said there has been little progress after 13 negotiation sessions with the Ministry of Families and the Treasury Board.
Quebec submitted its offers in April to unionized workers in the various daycare services.
“There has been no progress. They’re trampling on everything, everything, everything,” the union leader said.
Remuneration is the main point of contention. Since those responsible for family daycare services are self-employed, they are not paid an hourly wage, like workers in early childhood centres (CPEs), for example. Instead, they receive a subsidy from the Ministry of Families, which takes into account their remuneration, their groceries and the expenses inherent in maintaining the daycare service in their home.
Unless there is a change in the content of these negotiations, the first pressure tactics could therefore be used as early as November, Longchamp warns.
The FSSS represents 3,000 family daycare providers. The CSQ represents 9,000 and its managers have also given themselves a mandate to take pressure tactics that can go as far as a one-day strike.
The two union organizations also each represent thousands of workers in public CPE daycares.