Violence and resignations – De La Jonquière and Des Rives-du-Saguenay School Service Centers

There is a significant level of violence towards school support staff at the De La Jonquière and Rives-du-Saguenay school service centers. It affects close to one (1) out of five (5) people when physical violence is involved, and more than one (1) out four (4) when other kinds of violence are involved. At the De La Jonquière school service center, close to one (1) out of four (4) have experienced physical violence and more than one (1) out of three (3) other forms of non-physical violence.

There has also been a high number of resignations of school support staff in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region over the last five (5) years.

During his visit to the region as part of a tour to mark the 25th anniversary of the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ), federation President Éric Pronovost expressed his concern. He took this opportunity to meet with school support staff working in these two service centers.

Violence in the schools

Students are the main source of these incidents. The most frequently reported physical incidents include being hit and having objects thrown at them. Reported non-physical incidents include shouting, swearing, and insulting remarks. Sometimes there are even death threats.

“Violence against school support staff is unacceptable and must be addressed for the serious impact it has. This must stop, we must protect education personnel,” says Isabelle Blanchette, interim president of the Syndicat régional des employé(e)s de soutien (SRES-CSQ).

Over 1,530 school support staff have already resigned in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region

Over the past five years and into the current year, 1,530 school support staff have resigned from school service centers in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region. There were 439 resignations from the CSS des Rives-du-Saguenay, and 107 resignations from the CSS De La Jonquière. These figures do not include retirements. The FPSS‑CSQ used access to information requests to obtain these figures.

Éric Pronovost is deeply concerned about the situation, saying “We are witnessing a major crisis in education. These mass resignations are having an impact on the workloads of those who remain and on the quality of the services we offer.”

Why people are resigning

The reasons behind this wave of mass departures are varied, says Nancy Gagnon, President of the Syndicat du personnel de soutien scolaire de Jonquière (SPSSJ CSQ). “Lack of recognition, precarious working conditions, dwindling resources, and work overload are all factors that drive school support staff to make the difficult decision to leave their jobs in education.”

Pronovost adds that “this jeopardizes the quality of services offered to students. School support staff perform many different tasks, from administrative management to facilities maintenance to supporting students with special needs. Their contributions are often discreet, but they are fundamental.”

Losing people with experience and expertise is crucial. When people resign, new people need to be hired and trained to replace them. There is a significant cost associated with this, which the government needs to take into account.

The FPSS-CSQ is calling on the education minister to take urgent action to resolve this crisis. “Despite some gains in the new collective agreements, there are still many issues that require immediate action to preserve the integrity of our education system. School support staff remain deeply and constantly concerned about the lack of services to students,” insists Pronovost. “Adequate recognition of their essential contribution is required; we are a decisive factor in education.”

 More attractive jobs elsewhere

Isabelle Blanchette and Nancy Gagnon point out that more attractive jobs are being offered by private companies in the region and that many of their members, whether secretaries, laborers or specialized educators, have resigned their positions to take jobs elsewhere where they can get more working hours, a sometimes-lighter workload and often higher wages. They point out that the average salary of school support staff in the Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region is $28,800, while the viable income in the region is $32,077 for a person living alone and $55,220 for a single-parent family with one child.