Negotiations are over, but problems remain!

Press release – Back to college

Montreal, August 14, 2024 – On the eve of the start of the new academic year for students at Quebec’s CEGEPs and colleges, the three college federations (FEC-CSQ, FPSES-CSQ, FPPC-CSQ) of Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) want to highlight several issues that remain key concerns for their members.

The presidents of CSQ, Éric Gingras; Fédération de l’enseignement collégial (FEC-CSQ), Youri Blanchet; Fédération du personnel de soutien de l’enseignement supérieur (FPSES-CSQ), Valérie Fontaine; and Fédération du personnel professionnel des collèges (FPPC-CSQ), Éric Cyr, observed that, beyond public sector negotiations, much remains to be done to improve CEGEP staff attraction and retention, and to address the dilapidation of buildings in the college network. All the more so given strong enrolment growth, with the Quebec government predicting that by 2032, the number of students in the entire college network will rise by 14.4% compared to 10 years earlier, to exceed 196,000.

Rebuilding trust

“We would be wrong to neglect the college system, as it’s one of the assets that contributes so much to our social, cultural, and economic enrichment, while also accelerating the education of thousands of young people in every region of Quebec,” stressed CSQ president Éric Gingras.

“We’ve just come out of the 44th CSQ Congress, which focused on confidence in our institutions. It goes without saying that we want to help rebuild trust in public services and our institutions, and the college network is a very important link. To this end, we need a space for social dialogue with the government. At the same time, we need our institutions to be in good condition and our workplaces to be attractive. We also believe that the work doesn’t stop with negotiating collective agreements, and that a number of changes and developments can improve work and study conditions in the college network,” said Éric Gingras.

Dilapidated buildings and lack of attractiveness

The recent report by Quebec’s auditor general exposes a reality that has existed for too long: the buildings in the college network are in bad shape. In fact, the report states that CEGEP infrastructure has deteriorated at an alarming rate in recent years, with two-thirds (65%) in poor condition, up from 24% five years ago.

“We often forget that the poor condition of our buildings affects working conditions—particularly the health and safety of our members—as well as study conditions,” asserted FPSES-CSQ president Valérie Fontaine. “However, positions for skilled workers, who are on the front lines of facility maintenance and repair, are not attractive, despite an increase in the signing bonus. As a result, work that could be done in-house is outsourced to private firms for exorbitant sums, and we lose in-house expertise.”

Unfortunately, this lack of attractiveness is not limited to skilled workers. Many support staff positions remain vacant, creating an overload on existing staff and making it more difficult to provide high-quality services to the growing student population.

“Renovating” labor relations

In addition to renovating buildings, there is a need to “renovate” labor relations. “The shortage of skilled labour and a high turnover rate are affecting many professional staff jobs at CEGEPs,” said FPPC-CSQ president Éric Cyr. “Attraction and retention issues are well known, and our new collective agreement includes various ways to help retain people by providing more modern working conditions. Now CEGEPs need to implement these benefits for members, give more people flexible hours, and offer more professional autonomy through telecommuting, personal leave, and work/life balance, among other options. These changes, together with management based on goals rather than control, entail little cost to employers and can make a big difference for professionals.”

Student success and the education environment go hand in hand

There’s no doubt that dilapidated infrastructure ultimately has an impact on education quality. “First and foremost, the lack of space must not become an argument for accelerating the development of distance learning, when we now know that it is a barrier to success,” explained FEC-CSQ president Youri Blanchet. “Instead, we need to keep working to better welcome students upon their arrival at CEGEP, by giving them more support in learning to be students and becoming proficient in French, as recommended by the committee on challenge courses, which in late June released a report entitled Regard croisés sur les conditions de réussite éducative des premières cours de littérature et de philosophie au cégep. We hope that this report will serve as the basis for required discussions on the need for additional teaching resources.”

Artificial intelligence: The urgent need for action at colleges

Artificial intelligence and its impact on education was a key issue at the last CSQ Congress. The urgent need for collective reflection on how to regulate artificial intelligence, particularly at colleges, became clear during the proceedings, and recommendations have been made along these lines. “It goes without saying that we need to equip our staff to face these new challenges,” maintained the leaders of FEC-CSQ, FPSES-CSQ, and FPPC-CSQ. “However, to avoid the miracle solutions proposed by some private companies, these tools will need to be adopted in a climate of cooperation and collaboration. Moreover, as the relationship to knowledge and its production is profoundly altered by these technologies, the crucial importance of digital education for young people becomes paramount.”

Giving our CEGEPs some love

The auditor general’s report makes it clear that our CEGEPs lack love. “In light of this, it is essential to make a major investment in the college network. All too often, the Legault government has forgotten CEGEPs. It’s high time to upgrade our network and its staff,” concluded the representatives of CSQ and its three college federations.

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About CSQ

CSQ represents more than 225,000 members, about 125,000 of whom are education staff. CSQ has 11 federations with some 240 affiliated unions; it also includes AREQ, the CSQ retirees’ movement. CSQ is also present in the health and social services, early childhood education services, municipal, recreation, culture, community, and communications sectors.

X: CSQ_Centrale

About FEC-CSQ

Fédération de l’enseignement collégial (FEC-CSQ) is a group of 16 unions representing more than 3,000 CEGEP teachers from many regions of Quebec. Founded in 1968, FEC-CSQ has always advocated to ensure that CEGEPs have the means to provide students with a quality education to prepare for the job market or university, while contributing to the development of free and independent citizens. It is affiliated with Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ).

About FPSES-CSQ

FPSES-CSQ represents nearly 5,000 members working at thirteen colleges, three universities, and five broader public service organizations. It is affiliated with Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), which represents close to 215,000 members, nearly 125,000 of whom are education staff.

About FPPC-CSQ

Fédération du personnel professionnel des collèges (FPPC-CSQ) represents nearly 75% of the professional staff of CEGEPs in the college network—over 2,100 professionals in 38 unions. It consists exclusively of professional CEGEP staff.

Information

Maude Messier

CSQ Press Secretary

Cell: 514-213-0770

Email: messier.maude@lacsq.org