You want a union “break”? No, you’ve chosen confrontation

Éric Pronovost, President of the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ)

Once again last week, we denounced the latest round of education budget cuts, especially the effects these cuts will have on students and the school support staff we represent. This visibly shocked Education Minister Bernard Dranville, who immediately took to Facebook to ask the union for a “break”.

Of course we said: NO! Not only will we not give him a union “break”, but we’ll also engage in a very real confrontation with him and any of his successors who adopt the same attitude. For several years now, we’ve seen one education minister after another come and go, and nothing changes. When will we finally give our children a real chance to succeed and achieve their full potential by meeting their needs when they need them?

School support staff are holding things together in an education system that is falling apart year after year. The government offers a glimmer of hope with promises of more human and material resources to actually do the work that needs to be done. And then poof! All hope disappears and the axe falls one more time on the education system.

The government prefers to put on its rose-colored glasses, manipulate numbers and the public by making them believe everything is fine, that it’s investing in education because it’s their top priority, that it’s building beautiful schools, and that the salaries of school staff have increased.

But the reality is quite different! Things are not going well! The number of students is constantly increasing, and those with difficulties even more so. There’s a shortage of space in schools, and many are falling into disrepair. Salaries have been increased, but staff numbers have reduced significantly, placing a huge burden on those who remain, while prohibiting them from putting in an extra minute that could make a real difference in the quality of service provided to students. This is the reality, the real one. And they want us to keep quiet? Not while we’re still here!

School support staff are done playing firefighters and putting out fires. With the latest budget cuts, the education minister confiscated their water and hoses, while demanding that the school not be allowed to burn down. It’s an impossible mission!

So, we’re making a plea from the heart to current and future leaders of our government: education deserves a genuine societal reflection. A reflection that will analyze everything we have done since the Parent Commission in the 1960s, taking into account how our society has evolved. We have a collective duty to heed the recommendations of the various reports published over the years (Auditor General, Higher Council of Education, Ombudsman, and Special Commission on Children’s Rights, in particular), which should have motivated past and current leaders to establish new minimum standards for our education system.

We must consider teaching early childhood education at the university level and, above all, stop working in isolation and truly consult together, not just in theory.

Know this: nothing will stop us! We do not intend to fight alone to uphold the rights of students, parents, and school support staff. We must face these challenges united.

Quebeckers want each person to be able to develop their full potential. It’s time for the government to stop ignoring this societal choice. Managing schools based on a budget, rather than human needs, condemns the system to remain in this vicious cycle that fails to meet the needs of students.

Éric Pronovost, President of the Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ)