EXCERPTS

Unionized workers in 60 daycares in Montreal and Laval are gearing up for a strike in the coming weeks.

The Syndicat des travailleuses des CPE de Montréal et Laval union, affiliated with the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (STCPEML-CSN) voted overwhelmingly in favour of a 10-day strike mandate last week that can be exercised at any time deemed appropriate. 

The union is accusing its employer — the Association patronale nationale des CPE (APNCPE) — of refusing to apply the full agreement reached between the Quebec government and the majority of employers' associations last December.

STCPEML-CSN interim president Anne-Joelle Galipeau says the association wants to impose major setbacks on employees, making changes to the normal work week schedules and ending union participation in the choice of work schedules.

Last Tuesday, the APNCPE criticized the union's response to its counter-proposal, its decision to ask for a strike mandate as well as its lack of flexibility during the labour shortage.

In order to resolve the impasse, the union is asking parents to support them by calling their daycare managers. Meanwhile, the APNCPE believes the dispute can be resolved without a strike.

The union represents more than 2,800 workers in 155 daycares.