Home daycare workers in Quebec launch 4 days of rotating strikes. (CBC)

Tens-of-thousands of parents will have to make alternate plans for their children this week as 12,900 home daycare workers in Quebec launch four days of pressure tactics.

Starting Monday the workers will hold half-day strikes in regions across the province including the Outaouais, Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean region, Quebec's North Shore and Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

The rotating strikes will hit home daycare centres in the Montreal area on Thursday. A province-wide, day long walkout is planned for Nov. 10.

Home daycare workers are negotiating a first collective agreement with the Quebec government.

The secretary-treasurer of the CSQ labour federation, Daniel Lafrenière, says the union hopes the job action will speed up contract talks with the government which began in February.

"We tried a lot of things. We tried the soft measures. Now we are in strike process," said Lafreniere.

Better Pay

Government-subsidized home daycare workers received the right to unionize in June 2009 when the Quebec government passed Bill 51.

But Lafrenière says they are still considered independent workers.

He says the CSQ is fighting so that they receive paid vacations, a pension plan and better salaries.

Lafrenière says because of workload issues they earn much less than their counterparts who run publicly-funded early childhood centres outside the home and it's important their first collective agreement reflect that fact .

"These people are paid under the minimum wage actually. Around $6 or $7 an hour. So we ask for better pay for them," said Lafrenière.

Home daycare providers and those who operate out of commercial spaces both receive $19 a day from the Quebec government and another $7 from parents.

But Lafrenière says home daycare operators end up earning much less because "they are forced to work 50 hours per week, whereas their counterparts work an average of 35 hours."

Lafrenière says the union is asking for $13 more per child from Quebec.

This week's job action by the CSQ will affect as many as 90,000 children and their parents but Lafrenière says many families have told him they support the pressure tactic.

"Parents agree with this measure because many of the home daycare workers...will simply close... if they don't have their conditions," he said.

Another 2,000 home daycare operators in Quebec are affiliated with the CSN labour federation. They're holding their own contract talks with the government.