The shortage of education professionals in Greater Montreal's schools and centers is having an impact on student services, with more than one in two professionals considering quitting their jobs in the education sector.

These are the highlights of a survey conducted by the Fédération des professionnelles et professionnels de l'éducation du Québec (FPPE-CSQ), which includes the Syndicat du personnel professionnel de l'éducation du Nunavik et de l'Ouest de Montréal (SPPENOM-CSQ), representing some 117 professionals affiliated with the Centre de services scolaires des Trois-Lacs (CSSTL). 

The FPPE counts among its members 35 job categories in the administrative, pedagogical and direct student services sectors, including psychologists, psychoeducators, speech therapists, guidance counsellors, orthopedagogues and others.

At the beginning of October, ten professional positions were still to be filled, and only within the CSSTL.

"The real need is much greater than the number of vacant positions, since there have been no additions to these job categories for several years now, with the CSS already having difficulty filling positions. As a result, the available positions are not sufficient to meet real needs. In other words, the increase in the number of professionals has not kept pace with the increase in the number of students and schools," explains Karine Lapierre of the FPPE-CSQ.

A shortage that's set to get worse

The FPPE-CSQ survey shows that almost 53% of respondents in Montreal are thinking of leaving their jobs for reasons other than retirement. Of these, 59% are looking for a better salary. 

"Many professional positions are vacant in the region at the moment... The difficulty school service centers have in attracting and retaining professionals is mainly due to the unattractive working conditions in education. The shortage is likely to get worse if the Conseil du trésor doesn't decide to take action in the current negotiations," denounces Carolane Desmarais, President of SPPENOM-CSQ.

Lack of services for students

The survey also revealed that 82% of education professionals in the region claim that students are not receiving the professional services to which they are entitled under the Education Act.

Of these, 66% feel that there are not enough professionals, mainly due to the poor quality of their working conditions.

A similar situation throughout Quebec

For his part, the President of FPPE-CSQ maintains that the difficult situation experienced in Montreal is similar to that experienced by professional staff throughout Quebec.

"Our survey, which received over 4,000 responses, shows that 41% of professionals are thinking of leaving their jobs. The reasons given, in order of importance, are low salaries (50%), heavy workloads (47%) and lack of recognition (45%). I'd describe the situation as alarming," comments Jacques Landry.

Professionals have solutions to suggest

Education professionals are not giving up, and are pinning their hopes on the current negotiations to renew their collective agreement.

Nearly 70% of them believe that introducing mandatory thresholds for diversified and comprehensive professional services in each school and center would enable staff to work more preventively and meet students' needs.
needs.

A similar proportion believe that raising salaries, improving working conditions and scheduling flexibility, and allowing more time off to facilitate work-life balance would help attract and retain more staff to work with students.

Towards a strike

"At present, discussions at the bargaining tables are stagnating. The government is not proposing anything concrete to improve the current situation, which continues to deteriorate. We hope the government will take advantage of the back-to-school period to send us the message that the needs of Quebec students are among its priorities. That's why our members across Quebec have voted overwhelmingly so far, at 92.5%, in favor of a strike mandate that could go as far as an unlimited general strike," concludes the FPPE-CSQ president.