2 April 2021
The FPSS-CSQ denounces the government’s attitude towards school support staff
The Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS‑CSQ) is taking advantage of April Fool’s Day to denounce all the government inconsistencies toward school support staff and to declare that the farce has been going on long enough.
To bring home their message, members of the FPSS-CSQ also delivered a gigantic April Fool’s Day fish to the offices of Treasury Board President Sonia Lebel, in Trois-Rivières.
The 3rd wave – Schools are closed but daycares are open
Following the announcement that schools will be closed in three regions of Quebec, but daycares inside these schools will remain open, the FPSS-CSQ can only feel sorry that school support staff working in these daycares are not entitled to receive the COVID premium.
“Not only are we not being compensated for the risks we take working in daycares that remain open, but school support staff have also been on the frontlines since the pandemic began. Just like healthcare workers, we have been on high alert for a year. And yet we get not the slightest recognition from the government. We’ve had no respite and feel like we are being treated as less than nothing,” says FPSS-CSQ President Éric Pronovost. Other workers required to work in services deemed essential are all entitled to a wage premium.
Air quality tests in schools
“The air tests being carried out in our schools with no scientific endorsement are a big joke,” says Pronovost. “Student and employee health is being put at unnecessary risk. School support staff have also been completely left out of the process even though we have the necessary experience and expertise.”
Education Rendezvous
After the Rendez-vous pour la réussite éducative event held this morning, the President of the FPSS-CSQ can only conclude that these meetings are just a publicity stunt by Minister Jean-François Roberge. “With only three minutes given to each speaker to explain our reality, it’s hard to believe that the Minister really wants to hear from us and find concrete solutions to problems on the ground. It seems much more likely that Mr. Roberge is using these meetings just to give himself a clear conscience,” laments Pronovost.
