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Quebec has reached an agreement in principle with unions representing thousands of home daycare workers who have been carrying out strike actions for weeks.
The agreement concerns only the family-run childcare sector, which has nearly 9,000 members. Negotiations are still ongoing for the early childhood centres (CPE) sector.
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"Big news today! An agreement in principle was reached at the negotiating table for the family education services sector. Concerted actions are suspended and educational services will go back to normal," the FIPEQ-CSQ announced in a Facebook post.
According to the office of the Minister responsible for Government Administration and Chair of the Conseil du trésor, Sonia LeBel, the agreement is for a period of five years (2023-2028) and covers more than 70 per cent of those responsible for educational childcare in a family setting.
It will make it possible to increase the number of spots in these daycares, make it easier to care for infants under 18 months of age, and improve the attraction and retention of staff, LeBel's office said in a news release. However, the details remain confidential until members vote on the content of the agreement.
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The workers have been without a collective agreement for 21 months. The dispute is mainly about pay as the wage for a qualified entry-level educator is $21.60 an hour, while family-run daycares wanted bigger subsidies.