“We are here to teach, not to be beaten up,” Catherine Renaud, a vice-president of the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement, told a news conference on Monday.

“Like any other worker, we have the right to work without being subjected to acts of violence.”

The union, known as the FAE, says teachers have the right to be in a workplace that is free of violence and it is calling on Education Minister Sonia LeBel to work with them to address issues they say are urgent.