|
September 27, 2018
Workers Speak Out During
Quebec Election Campaign
PDF
•
The Dignity of Labour -
Editorial,
Chantier politique
• The Role of Citizens in this Election -
A
Montreal
Construction
Worker
• It's Up to Us to Become the Decision-Makers
- Claude Moreau,
Maintenance Mechanic, Saint-François-d'Assise Hospital, Quebec
City
• Defend Our Public Services and Keep Them
In-House - Robin Côté, President, Canadian
Union of Public Employees Local 2541 (Alma)
• Stop the Cuts, Invest in Health Care and
Improve Working Conditions to Keep
and Attract Personnel - Félix-Olivier Bonneville,
Vice-President, Fédération de la santé et des
services sociaux (FSSS-CSN)
• Support Outaouais Nurses, Auxiliary Nurses
and Respiratory Therapists
- Petition, Outaouais Health Care Professionals Union (FIQ-SPSO)
Workers Speak Out During Quebec Election
Campaign
The Dignity of Labour
- Editorial, Chantier politique -
In this election, there is wall of silence on the issue
of the dignity of labour. This takes place through the dissemination of
disinformation by parties said to be able to win the election, which
take as gospel that private monopolies and oligopolies are the creators
of the social wealth, that immigration is the cause of job shortages,
etc. In their
view, governments must place all of society's resources, including its
human resources of which the working class is a part, at the disposal
of these big private interests. This is presented as a truism that
cannot be challenged.
 It follows from such
fraudulent logic that workers who defend their rights must be
criminalized by the state because they hinder the ability of these big
private interests to grab all of society's wealth for themselves. The
veneer of elections fails to conceal the continual threat and dictate
exerted against workers, which erupts with force as soon
as the electoral circus is over. Recent laws, in particular those
passed against construction workers and municipal employees, amply
demonstrate this.
However the truth we cannot afford to hide is that
workers tirelessly defend the dignity of labour. One aspect of
upholding this truth is to recognize the election disinformation that
claims that those elected represent us. Workers must speak on their own
behalf to affirm that as the producers of all the goods and services
they have rights which must be
recognized and guaranteed and that all criminalization of their
struggles must end.
Let's work together to develop public opinion in
support of the dignity of labour and in defence of all those whose
rights and dignity are being violated. Let's begin by ensuring that
this election does not result in our being saddled with a majority
government.
Chantier politique is the
online newspaper of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec (PMLQ).
The Role of Citizens in this Election
- A Montreal Construction Worker -
As workers we must ask ourselves the question: What is
our role in this political system that is increasingly devoid of all
social content and, more specifically, of our active participation?
It is Quebec workers who, day-in and day-out, make
Quebec function. Whether it be health care, services, administration,
manufacturing, construction, education, transportation or culture, we
are the driving force that ensures the functioning of the society.
When it comes to big private interests, the governments
in their service need us to run society to serve their empire. However,
they organize to block the workers from ourselves becoming the
decision-makers. Our only role during the election is to vote, period.
Can we shed the role of spectator and become active
players in the political process in the interests of society?
That is the most important question to keep in mind
when we intervene in this election.
Let's ensure that no majority government takes control
on October 1.
It's Up to Us to Become the Decision-Makers
- Claude Moreau, Maintenance Mechanic,
Saint-François-d'Assise Hospital, Quebec City -
Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec (PMLQ) candidate
Claude Moreau was one of the speakers at the September 22 rally on
air
quality held in the Lower Town of Quebec City. After greeting everyone,
in particular those who had organized the event, Claude highlighted the
fact that this issue of the air quality in Lower Town amply shows that
it is the working people who should be making the decisions which
affect their lives. Claude said:
The health of the
inhabitants of Quebec City's Lower Town is constantly threatened by the
poor quality of the air. Prevailing winds have always maintained the
pollution just above Lower Town. That pollution is mainly the result of
industrial activity such as at the White Birch Paper Mill, the
incinerator, dust particles from Quebec City's
Old Port and transportation (not only exhaust gas but also carbon
particles from tire wear), as highways either end in or just above
Lower Town. Recently, there was an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease
that killed 14 people in Lower Town. The epidemic was the result
of poor maintenance of water cooling towers, the delay in response time
of public health and other authorities and the non-application of
recommendations following the first outbreak in the '90s.
When I was a student, I
would return from Dominion [formerly the Dominion Corset Building, that
was turned into a school] and my lungs would be burning. This was
because of the sulphur dioxide emitted from the pulp and paper mill.
When in contact with humidity in the air it transforms into sulphuric
acid. Following the opening of the
incinerator in 1974, clothes lines were covered in soot. I was an
active participant in the struggle that lasted for years, to
decontaminate the hospital and
the air.
In this regard, the struggle
that brings us here has been ongoing for years and must carry on. There
should be no illusions regarding the announcement that the incinerator
will be closed. At this very moment there are plans to supply power to
the new hospital being built with steam from the incinerator. The plan
is not to close it. Far from it!
My daughter worked on biomethanization for Quebec City and was very
surprised: zero progress. We cannot leave such issues in the hands of
those who claim to be the decision-makers and developers. We need to
sort out how to humanize the natural and social environment, which is
our living environment. Already, by holding this demonstration,
we are refusing to allow this issue to be excluded from what are called
election issues. It's very important to continue the struggle, to not
give up. It's up to us to become the decision-makers.
Claude Moreau has
worked for 45 years at the Saint-François-d'Assise Hospital
as a maintenance mechanic, and is a long-time resident of Quebec City's
Lower Town, having gone to school there and raised his family there. He
is the PMLQ candidate in Jean-Lesage.
Defend Our Public Services and
Keep Them In-House
- Robin Côté, President,
Canadian Union of Public Employees
Local 2541 (Alma) -
The big problem we have in the municipal sector, both
in Alma as well as elsewhere in Quebec, is with work being outsourced.
This results in jobs
being taken away from our own workers, whether permanent, temporary or
occasional. Our local has around 160 members, both blue and white
collar workers. We provide important services for the functioning of
the city such as snow removal, pavement and sidewalk maintenance,
sewage maintenance,
water treatment, office work, etc.
We are fighting outsourcing because it poses a threat
to our jobs. As well, work done through subcontracting is often more
expensive and of a poorer quality than work done internally. We
succeeded in having it written into our collective agreement that the
city cannot outsource work that will result in the layoff of permanent
workers. However,
we have many temporary employees who are not protected in the same way
by the collective agreement. They can be laid off. Permanent workers
are protected. However, were everything to be outsourced, then when we
negotiate our collective agreement and no longer have any temporary and
occasional workers, huge pressure will be exerted on
the membership, as the city will say that there is no longer any work
for them. This pressure on municipal employees is constant, in Alma as
well as all across Quebec.
We are also fighting to ensure that control over our
public services is not handed over to conglomerates of big
international firms through negotiations between countries, such as
through free trade agreements. For example, large private international
companies covet water treatment plants. If they cannot directly get
their hands on our public
services, they can apply for compensation on the basis of not being
able to bid on the service. This is of great concern to us and constant
pressure has to be placed on governments to prevent them from handing
over our public services to such companies. Our main unions must seize
every opportunity to protect our public services. What we are
dealing with here is outsourcing at the international level.
Both our public services as well as keeping them
in-house must be defended. Big corporations want to generate profits
from our public services. What we do is deliver a service to the
population, not make profits with it.
Stop the Cuts, Invest in Health Care and Improve
Working Conditions to Keep and Attract Personnel
- Félix-Olivier Bonneville,
Vice-President, Fédération de la santé et des
services sociaux (FSSS-CSN) -
We're faced with a complex organizational problem in the
health care system because it affects all job classifications, not only
the
nursing staff. Cuts have resulted in not only a shortage of nurses, but
a shortage in all job categories [the job categories are nursing,
trades and paratechnical, office and professional staff]. Nurses are
being forced to do tasks that are not part of the nursing component.
For example, if an administrative agent is not replaced, nurses end up
answering
the telephone, organizing appointments, etc. This creates a problem of
not being able to retain staff in nursing as well as in other types of
jobs. More and more mobility is being demanded of personnel and the
quality of employment is being eroded to such an extent that our nurses
are being asked to change their shifts with only two days' notice,
making life impossible, in particular for mothers with children. If we
want to attract people to the health care system, the jobs being
offered must be interesting and have good conditions.
The reform [restructuring of health care imposed
through Bill 10] has eliminated almost all decision-making at
the local level. Essentially, decisions are being taken at the
ministerial level. Things are being decided outside the workplace
environment. It's a form of management that complicates our lives. The
reform has created mega-structures, with demands from health centre
managers that are
the same across Quebec. We think this is being coordinated at the
ministerial level. People on the North Shore are being asked to travel
long distances. In Montreal and other big centres, the distances are
smaller and travel less complicated, but the directive is the same.
It's a decision-making process that does not recognize the specificity
of the
facilities involved. Workers are being asked to make concessions in
many spheres including mobility, and swing shift teams.
At present, the Confederation of National Trade Unions
(CSN) is waging a "15 Ways to Improve the Health and Social Services
System" campaign in conjunction with organizations representing
patients, doctors and managers. During the election campaign, we are
emphasizing that the health care network is suffocating as a result of
the cuts
and major organizational changes that have been carried out.
We are fighting to end the cuts, for investments in
health care and an end to the deterioration of our working conditions,
otherwise we will lose more and more of our workforce.
Support Outaouais Nurses, Auxiliary Nurses
and Respiratory Therapists
- Petition, Outaouais Health Care
Professionals Union (FIQ-SPSO) -
We, citizens of the Outaouais, support the demands of
the the nurses, auxiliary nurses and respiratory therapists, members of
the Outaouais
health care professionals union (FIQ) and ask President and Director
General [of the Centre for Integrated Health and Social Services in the
Outaouais -- CISSSO] Mr. Jean Hébert and his executive committee
to pursue local bargaining in order to offer them decent and humane
working conditions.
- To prevent the exodus of
nurses, auxiliary nurses and respiratory therapists to Ontario or their
region of origin;
- To maintain the ability to
provide quality care in a safe environment in the Outaouais;
- To attract a maximum
number of employees from other regions;
- To avoid aggravating the
shortage of health care professionals;
- To avoid an increase in
the exhaustion levels of health care professionals; and
- To avoid having nurses,
auxiliary nurses and respiratory therapist abandon their professions.
(To sign the petition, click
here.)
PREVIOUS
ISSUES | HOME
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: office@cpcml.ca
|
