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A leading figure among unionized childcare workers, Valérie Grenon, president of the Fédération des intervenantes en petite enfance (FIPEQ), is stepping down from her position.
The CSQ-affiliated union represents 9,000 workers in family daycares and 3,000 in Quebec’s Centres de la petite enfance (CPEs).
Grenon is leaving in the midst of negotiations that began several months ago with Quebec to renew the collective agreement for family daycare providers and members working in CPEs.
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Grenon is taking up a position as an adviser at the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ).
“A lot of battles, a lot of gains, a lot of struggles, a lot of victories for the members,” Grenon said of her time at FIPEQ. “So, I’m leaving very proudly, with a sense of duty accomplished.”
She will be succeeded by Anne-Marie Bellerose, who was secretary-treasurer at FIPEQ.
Unions representing child-care workers have often had to resort to pressure tactics in the past. Yet there is a shortage of workers in the field and, what’s more, Quebec wants to create thousands of places in the network to meet growing demand.
“Are they trying to belittle women’s jobs? Is it the typically female professions that have more difficulty gaining recognition? Often, that’s where salaries are lower,” Grenon said. “We’re going to have to find solutions to make ourselves heard, perhaps as loudly as the men’s unions.”
The FIPEQ’s current negotiations are shaping up to be even tougher, as the two groups of unionized workers — in daycare centres and family daycare centres — have already adopted “progressive strike” mandates, initially providing for daycare services to open later.
“The situation can improve. The CAQ government has to make early childhood a priority. It has settled the public sector, all the better. It sorted out the nurses. Now, it’s going to have to roll up its sleeves and make early childhood a priority,” Grenon argued.
Her successor agrees. “It’s very difficult to get this government to move. It seems that the only way to show them that you’re persevering, that you’re a fighter, and that you’re going to go all the way, is to use pressure tactics,” Bellerose said.
“No one wants to go on strike,” Bellerose added. “But if that’s the only way we can make ourselves heard, well, we’ll do it. And we’ll be there to lead the battle.”
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