Resolute Actions Against Untenable
Conditions in Health Care
Quebec Nurses' "No Mandatory Overtime" Day of Action on April 8
Protest against poor working conditions including mandatory overtime,
March 28, 2019 outside health care human resources offices in
Laurentides.
On April 8, nurses belonging to the Interprofessional
Health Care
Federation of Quebec (FIQ) will be holding a No Mandatory Overtime Day
of Action, under the theme "Mandatory Overtime Has Gone On Long
Enough." At a press conference in Montreal on April 2, FIQ President
Nancy Bédard presented the action's aim: "On
April 8, health care professionals want to opt for their own physical
and mental health, their personal and family lives. Just like the vast
majority of the population, they want a normal work day, without risk
being taken hostage. That's the goal behind this unprecedented day [of
action]," she noted.
 The FIQ President described
the systematic use of mandatory overtime as a form of organizational
violence against nurses.
"This practice has become an actual mode of management
that
undermines the rights of health care professionals and has a direct
impact on the quality and safety of care. April 8 should be a jolt to
all
managers in the network. When mandatory overtime is 'planned' in
advance, it is no longer an emergency. The code of conduct requires
that
overtime must be used as an exceptional and emergency measure, and this
is not currently the case. What should be an exceptional measure has
been established in many institutions as the current management system.
It is inhuman and dangerous for both health care professionals and
patients," she said.
According to the FIQ, the practice of mandatory
overtime goes far
beyond the issue of labour relations. It undermines the safety of care
and has a direct impact on patients. Women are the first victims of
mandatory overtime since they represent 90 per cent of the members of
the federation. Thousands of mothers, spouses and caregivers find
themselves forced to work extra shifts. Their profession is one where
this inhuman practice is rampant, and this, on a daily basis.
In a brief presented to the Quebec government in May
2018, the FIQ
states that in 2014-2015, Quebec nurses worked 4.5 million overtime
hours. Burnout among workers in the health system has reached an
unprecedented level. There is currently an explosion in the number of
disabilities for psychological diagnoses among workers in the
health network, including a 47 per cent increase at the Integrated
Health and Social Services Centre (CISSS) in the Estrie; 35 per cent at
the McGill University Health Centre; and 31 per cent at the CISSS in
Montérégie-Est. According to the FIQ, overtime hours have
a significant
impact on the number of errors committed and the
systematic use of overtime significantly increases the risk of
mortality in hospitals, citing a four per cent increase in incidents
and accidents during the delivery of health care in Quebec facilities
in 2016-2017.
One of the aims of the day is to make an urgent appeal
to the
Minister of Health and Social Services to go beyond declarations and
take concrete action to end the mandatory overtime.
"However, this wish will remain unfulfilled if managers
are not
required to make profound changes," said Nancy Bédard. "A clear
message
must be sent that the days are over when we put the whole functioning
of the health network on the shoulders of health care professionals. It
is urgent to act! We shared with the Minister a
multitude of solutions including the deployment of health care
professional-to-patient ratios through legislation. We hope there is
going to be a [marked difference] before and after April 8, 2019. We
are hopeful that this day will be one of significant change. If not, we
will continue our struggle and the next few months could be quite
intense,"
concluded the FIQ President.
The FIQ represents close to 76,000 nurses, practical
nurses,
respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists working in health
care facilities throughout Quebec.
This article was published in
Number 12 - April 4, 2019
Article Link:
Resolute Actions Against Untenable
Conditions in Health Care: Quebec Nurses' "No Mandatory Overtime" Day of Action on April 8
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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