Latest news with #AENQ
CBC
28-05-2025
- General
- CBC
Teachers vote to approve deal with Nunavik school board
Social Sharing Teachers and support workers in Nunavik have overwhelmingly voted in favour of an agreement-in-principle with Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, the region's school board. The Association of Employees of Northern Québec (AENQ), which represents the teachers and support staff, and the board announced Wednesday they'd reached the agreement earlier this month, narrowly avoiding a strike. In this latest round of voting, 90 per cent of teachers and 95 per cent of support staff were in favour of the deal. "We're relieved, even though we knew our members were going to approve the agreement," said Larry Imbeault, AENQ president. "We're relieved that we didn't need to put more pressure and ultimately go on strike." Background check issue resolved The parties had been negotiating for more than 30 months. One of the final sticking points was the period of time teachers would have to respond to a request of a criminal background check. The board wanted the power to break a contract and effectively fire the employee if they hadn't responded within 10 days. The union was concerned the response window was too short and that it could lead to people losing their jobs if they simply hadn't checked their emails on time. The parties finally agreed that the school board would inform the union for every request of a background check. "We framed this provision a bit more to allow the union to defend its members if necessary," said Imbeault. "Of course we would have preferred what we'd asked for at the start … [but] both the union and members are satisfied with this compromise." In the coming weeks, the school board and the AENQ will be working together to finalize the collective agreement, which will then be brought to teachers. That agreement will run until March 31, 2028, with the next round of negotiations expected to start in October 2027.
CBC
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Strike avoided for schools in Nunavik, Que., communities
Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, the school board for communities in the Nunavik region of Québec, and the union representing teachers as well as support staff have reached an agreement in principle after two and a half years of negotiations. The agreement narrowly avoids a strike that was set to run from May 13 to 30. "The content of the agreement in principle is currently being drafted and will subsequently be submitted to the teachers and support staff affiliated to the [Association of Employees of Northern Québec (AENQ)] for ratification," reads a news release from the school board on Saturday. According to a separate release from the Québec government, the agreement affects more than 1,500 teachers an support staff that work for Kativik Ilisarniliriniq. "The negotiations were long and challenging for everyone involved," said Larry Imbeault, AENQ's president. Teachers went on a three-day strike in January across 14 Nunavik communities. At the time, they pushed for accelerated negotiations. Dismissal concerns at issue One of the final sticking points in the negotiations was the period of time staff had to respond to a request for a criminal background check. The school board required staff to respond within 10 days. If a staff member didn't respond within that window then the board wanted the power to terminate the person's contract. The union was concerned this would lead to arbitrary dismissals of staff that may inadvertently miss the email while on vacation or similar situations. It's not clear how the parties resolved the issue. The proposed strike dates would have coincided with the end of the school year and would have meant cancelled trips and graduation ceremonies. Prior to the agreement, Jennifer La Page, a parent to two high school students in Kuujjuaq, said, "I acknowledge that the teachers should get what they deserve, but their union should not use our children as a bargaining chip to gain their rights." She had launched a petition urging both parties to come resolve their issues, which garnered more than 300 signatures. The agreement is retroactive to 2023 and will last until 2028.
Hamilton Spectator
12-05-2025
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Nunavik teachers' strike called off after union, board sign agreement in principle
After two and a half years of what a union leader called 'bitter negotiations,' the union representing Nunavik teachers and Kativik Ilisarniliriniq, the region's school board have reached an agreement in principle, averting what was to be a 17-day strike starting Tuesday. The Association of Employees of Northern Quebec announced Saturday in a news release that an agreement in principle has been reached for teachers and support staff in Nunavik's schools. They had been trying to renew a contract that expired in 2023. 'After 30 months of bitter negotiations, I am delighted that we have finally reached an agreement in principle,' AENQ president Larry Imbeault said in the release, written in French. The union representing 450 teachers and support workers in Nunavik had voted 56 per cent in favor of a strike that was scheduled to start Tuesday and to last 17 days. The union confirmed that all the job actions it planned over the last few days have been cancelled until further notice. The union also would like to see joint discussions be had with the school board to find solutions that could speed up the next round of negotiations. The union's release did not describe any of the terms, such as wage increases, that were part of the agreement. It said it would not say anything more publicly about the agreement until its members were informed about its terms.
