Teachers join strike of Quebec civil servants

Quebec teachers Thursday joined an escalating illegal strike by civil servants after Premier Rene Levesque warned that the provincial government was preparing charges against the strikers.

Mr. Levesque said he would recall the provincial legislature to consider even stiffer penalties if hospital workers joined the work stoppage. The general strike, called by a coalition of unions to protest wage cuts of up to 20 percent , started Jan. 26, when staff at junior colleges walked off the job. The strike could become much more serious Jan. 31, when hospital workers are due to join it. By Feb. 1 the unions say they expect to have the province virtually paralyzed, with 200,000 of the Quebec government's 325,000 employees on strike.

Labor federations could be fined up to $6,500 (Canadian) a day under Quebec's provincial labor code. Individuals who withdraw their labor face fines of up to