Négociation nationale 2020

Adopting a tentative agreement

What is a tentative agreement?

A tentative agreement is signed when the two parties agree on the broad lines of a collective agreement, without writing the texts. This document is submitted to the FIQ delegates then to the members, to validate these main elements meeting the members’ needs and corresponding to the negotiation draft.

  1. Concluding a tentative agreement
  2. Executive Committee decision
  3. Presentation to FIQ and FIQP delegates
  4. Referendum vote of the members

What are the steps in its adoption?

1. Concluding a tentative agreement

The FIQ Negotiating Committee concludes a tentative agreement with the government negotiators and decides to recommend it to the Executive Committee.

This tentative agreement may be:

  • sectorial – if it is on working conditions;
  • intersectoral – if it is on salary, retirement, parental rights and regional disparities;
  • global – if it includes both the sectoral and intersectoral.

2. Executive Committee decision

The agreement is presented to the FIQ Provincial Executive Committee who decides to recommend it to the Provincial Council or not.

A press release is issued to announce the tentative agreement to both FIQ members and the population. In this way, it is the FIQ who announces the signature of the agreement, and not the government.

The FIQ is the bargaining agent for the FIQP, which represents the members working in the private subsidized institutions whose working conditions are determined by the provincial collective agreement.

3. Presentation to FIQ and FIQP delegates

The agreement is presented to the FIQ and FIQP delegates in a Special Provincial Council – Negotiations.

  • It is the delegates, who represent all the affiliated unions, who decide to submit (or not) the agreement to the members and recommend its adoption.
  • The discussions are generally held in camera to ensure the discussions are confidential.

A press release is issued to inform the members and population of the decision taken by the delegation.

Two possible decisions

Rejection

The content of the agreement is not revealed. The delegates chose not to submit it to the members.

Adoption

  • The content of the agreement is presented to the members at local general assemblies.
  • When it is a global agreement, the voting procedure begins. A date is set to hold a referendum vote during which the members can adopt (or not) the tentative agreement. The members receive the necessary information for exercising their right to vote and taking a decision.

4. Referendum vote of the members

Before the pandemic and restrictions it imposes, the FIQ and FIQP had chosen to hold an electronic referendum vote when the time is right to facilitate the voting of its 76,000 members.