At St. Jude Elementary School in Deux-Montagnes where she works as a Grade 4 teacher, Chantal Kers despairs of growing class sizes, and the effect on students with special needs.

“I feel so discouraged,” Kers said Saturday at the foot of Mount-Royal, where tens of thousands of public-sector workers gathered in a common front demonstration.

“Our students’ needs are already not being met, and and now the government wants to cut services and continue to increase the class sizes,” Kers said, alluding to what she described as Premier Philippe Couillard’s austerity agenda.

“I believe the public needs to get more involved,” she added. “It’s not just up to the employees.”

Members of the common front sought to draw attention not only to the government’s austerity measures, but to protest against Treasury Board president Martin Coiteaux’s proposed public-sector wage freeze for the next two years, followed by annual one-per-cent raises until 2019.

The common front — comprising five workers’ federations — is seeking salary hikes of 13.5 per cent over three years. Two of the federations — the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) and the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) — already have strike mandates.

Strolling with their children and blowing noisemakers in the warm autumn sunshine, the workers marched down Parc Ave. to Sherbrooke St., before converging on McGill College Ave. for a concert and speeches by union leaders. Many of the workers were bused in from across Quebec.

I’m not going to say that this will be the last peaceful demonstration, but we’re moving towards more muscular tactics. — Daniel Boyer, president of the Fédération des travailleurs du Québec

Daniel Boyer, president of the Fédération des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ) that is part of the common front, warned of more “muscular” pressure tactics to come during Saturday’s demonstration.

“I’m not going to say that this will be the last peaceful demonstration, but we’re moving towards more muscular tactics,” Boyer told reporters, without elaborating on the nature of those tactics.

The FTQ has accused the Couillard government of attempting to “dismantle” the province’s social programs and institutions.

Françoise David, MNA for Gouin riding and co-leader of Québec solidaire, joined the march, urging Coiteaux to “negotiate in good faith” and to “stop his public-relations campaign to discredit the unions.”

Many of the marchers waved flags or carried signs with slogans, one of which contained the following couplet in French: “Les plus pauvres à l’enfer pour l’équilibre budgétaire” (the poorest to hell for a balanced budget).

Martin Savard, an educator at the Centre de réadaptation en dépendance de Montréal, said in an interview workers like himself are sick and tired of all the job cuts the Couillard government has imposed.





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GALLERY: Gallery: Unions protest against austerity A family joins a crowd estimated at over 100,000 people on Mount Royal as they take part in coalition of public-sector unions demonstration in Montreal on Saturday October 3, 2015. The groups are protesting the Couillard government's contract offer to unions representing provincial level workers. Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette

People cheer anti- government speeches as they join a crowd estimated at over 100,000 people taking part in coalition of public-sector unions demonstration in Montreal on Saturday October 3, 2015. The groups are protesting the Couillard government's contract offer to unions representing provincial level workers. Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette

A coalition of public-sector unions demonstrated at Mount-Royal on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015. Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette

A crowd estimated at over 100,000 people take part in coalition of public-sector unions demonstration in Montreal on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015. Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette

File photo of a protest in Montreal Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette

A sea of people fill Sherbooke St. as a crowd estimated at over 100,000 people take part in a coalition of public-sector unions demonstration in Montreal on Saturday Oct. 3, 2015. Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette

A crowd estimated at over 100,000 people take part in coalition of public-sector unions demonstration in Montreal on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015. Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette

A child rides on a demonstrator's shoulders as they join a crowd estimated at over 100,000 people taking part in coalition of public-sector unions demonstration in Montreal on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2015. Allen McInnis /Montreal Gazette

“They’re abolishing all kinds of positions — from administration to clinical personnel,” Savard said. “As a result, whenever someone is absent, we become overloaded.”

Alexandre Fecteau, vice-president of the municipal workers’ union in St-Adèle, accused the government of “taking money out of the pockets” of workers after signing a fiscal pact with municipalities on Sept. 29.

The pact would lead to decreases in transfers of funding to municipalities from 2016 to 2019 in exchange for a greater share of a possible increase in the provincial sales tax.

aderfel@montrealgazette.com

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