'Common Front' workers reject government's offer of extra cash

Unionized workers stage a noisy protest on Friday, Nov. 6, 2015 outside the Mount Royal Club in Montreal.

Unionized workers in Quebec are not happy with the state of contract negotiations and they vow to continue rotating strikes next week.

At dawn, they began protesting outside the Mount Royal Club, where Treasury Board President Martin Coiteux, a member of the provincial cabinet, was scheduled to have a breakfast meeting with the Chamber of Commerce.

The provincial government formally announced Friday it will make salary concessions in its negotiations with public sector workers.

To date the government has offered a three per cent raise over five years, while 500,000 unionized employees working as a common front have been demanding 13.5 per cent over three years.

Instead of a two-year freeze, salary hikes would kick in after year one of the collective agreement.

The government offered the collective an extra $500 million, but in exchange wanted to simplify the pay scales for public sector workers.

Currently there are more than 150 different employee pay ladders for unionized workers in the public sector. The provincial goverment wants to cut that down to fewer than 30.

Unionized employees said it's the largest restructuring of pay scales in several decades, with those at the protest saying even before they've seen the deal on paper, they don't like the way it sounds.

Later in the morning the "common front" of unions rejected the offer, saying they had no interest in restructuring pay scales.

They said at first glance, it appears 18,000 employees would end up being paid less than their current income.

Unions are also fighting to keep the retirement age at 60, while the provincial government wants it raised to 62. The federally-mandated retirement age is 67.

The government is hoping to reach a negotiated settlement with its public sector workers before the end of the fall session in December.