Quebec teachers holding votes for possible strike

Teachers from schools across the province are gearing up for the possibility of rotating strikes in light of stalled contract negotiations with the Quebec government.

• Riverside School Board teachers vote in favour of strike mandate
• Thousands of Quebec teachers to strike for 2 days this fall
• Extra-curricular activities put on hold in some Montreal schools
• Students, parents, staff protest against public school spending cuts

On Tuesday, teachersat the Riverside School Board on Montreal's South Shore voted in favour of a six-day strike mandate over stalled contract negotiations with the Quebec government.

Eighty-six per cent ofthe 460 teachers who cast a ballot voted in favour of the mandate.

Riverside School Boardrepresents 25 schools andabout 850 teachers onthe South Shore.

Meanwhile, the Fdration autonome de l'enseignement(FAE)a union federation representingteachers at French-language schoolssaid last week that 34,000 of its members would hold a one-day strike on Sept. 30.

That strike day is expected to affect275,000 students in 10 Montreal-area school boards.

The FAE will hold two other, non-consecutiverotating strike days in October.

Quebec's teachers have been without a contract since April.

What the province is asking for:

• Increase in teacher-student ratio.
• Elimination of allocated funds toward schools' programs for special-needs children.
• Abolition of 800 resource-teacher and special-education teacher jobs.
• Salary freeze for two years (the teachers are asking for 13.5 per cent over three years).
• Cuts to employee pension plans.

Dates of strike votes for Montreal-area English schools and boards

• Chteauguay Valley (New Frontiers): Sept. 16
• Champlain College: Sept. 16
• John Abbott College: Sept. 21
• SirWilfrid Laurier School Board: Sept.21-22
• Eastern Townships School Board: Sept. 23
• Lester B. Pearson School Board: Sept.24-25
• English Montreal School Board: Sept.24
• Vanier College: Sept. 25
• Dawson College:Sept. 28-29