UQAM Education Students Association (ADEESE) and UQAM Student Employees Union (SÉTUE) have denounced interference from the Centrale des Syndicats du Québec (CSQ) in their attempt to unionize school service center interns. The CSQ is accused of attempting to prevent interns from exercising their right to unionize.
ADEESE and SÉTUE have been mobilizing for months, demanding appropriate pay and better working conditions for interns. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) has applied for 36 petitions for certifications across 18 different school service centers to negotiate collective agreements for interns.
However, the CSQ has asked PSAC to remove their certification requests in the school service centers where the CSQ is already established. If not, the CSQ has threatened to withdraw from the common front of the public sector. The CSQ is accused of trying to weaken labor’s collective voice while leaving school service center interns in a state of uncertainty.
ADEESE and SÉTUE say the demand from the CSQ is not based on any reasonable grounds and undermines their attempts to provide salaries and better working conditions to interns. The two organizations accuse the CSQ of interfering with the interns’ right to unionize and denounce the interference in a letter addressed to Mr. Éric Gingras.
Interns in education, sexology, social work, and more broadly in the health sector are demanding appropriate pay in a work environment where women represent the majority of workers. Other interns in male-dominated disciplines such as engineering already receive a salary.
ADEESE-UQAM represents nearly 5,300 students in various fields of education while SÉTUE represents over 3,000 UQAM workers as teaching or research assistants, as well as non-academic personnel.
