In the Name of Dealing with the
Pandemic
Another Ministerial Dictate to Undermine Working Conditions of Health Care Workers in Quebec
 
Demonstration by health care workers, Mauricie,
July 6, 2020.
The very first act undertaken by the new
Quebec Minister of Health and Social Services,
Christian Dubé, formerly President of the
Treasury Board, was the publication of a
ministerial order that cancels parts of the
collective agreements of health and social
services workers, like a previous ministerial
order did.[1]
The new order purports to deal with the influx
of new trainee orderlies in residential and
long-term care centres (CHSLDs). The Minister
has imposed accelerated training which is
truncated -- 375 hours of training instead of
870 hours which lead to the Diploma of
Vocational Studies provided by the Ministry of
Education. These trainees are to begin working
in CHSLDs as of September 15.
The ministerial order imposes the following
conditions on trainees and the unions:
"That the national and local provisions of the
collective agreements in force in the health and
social services network and the employment
conditions that apply to non-unionized salaried
personnel be amended as per the following
conditions:
"(1) a lump sum of $5.00 per work shift, which
may be divided into half shifts, is paid to the
salaried person designated by his or her
immediate superior to accompany candidates
enrolled in training leading to an attestation
of professional studies for health care facility
patient service support. That salaried person
holds one of the following job titles appearing
in the List of Job Title classifications,
wording, health and social services wage rates
and scales: nurse; nursing assistant; orderly."
The ministerial order is unilaterally changing
the duties of these workers which are outlined
in their collective agreements. It is imposing
an extra task on top of their normal duties and
is forcing them to perform training which is
normally done by professional staff whose job is
to do training. There has been no negotiation,
consultation or even discussion of this with
those affected by the decision. Furthermore,
orderlies are already overworked and suffering
great stress due to their working conditions and
the risk of contracting and spreading COVID-19.
This order is bound to increase all these
problems, putting the health and safety of the
workers and of the patients further at risk. For
all that extra work, they are getting an
additional $5 a day per shift. This $5 is not
considered a wage increase. It is a "bonus"
which means it is not integral to the pension
plan.
Who is going to take responsibility if
accidents happen? Not the government, obviously.
This order has nothing to do with dealing with
the pandemic and everything to do with using the
pandemic as a pretext for strengthening the
arbitrary powers of the state. It is doing so at
the expense of the working conditions of the
workers and of their voice and therefore at the
expense of the well-being of the patients.
Unions are happy to welcome the arrival of
badly needed new staff, however they are opposed
to the complete disregard for the workers'
concerns and their right to a decisive say in
their working conditions. Workers' Forum
is publishing below an interview with Jeff
Begley, President of the Federation of Health
and Social Services (FSSS-CSN), which
represents, amongst others, tens of thousands of
orderlies.
Note
1. For more information
on the Quebec government's ministerial orders,
read "Quebec
Public Sector Workers Oppose Ministerial Use
of Emergency Powers to Arbitrarily Set Working
Conditions," Workers' Forum, April 7,
2020.
This article was published in
Number 49 - July 16, 2020
Article Link:
In the Name of Dealing with the
Pandemic: Another Ministerial Dictate to Undermine Working Conditions of Health Care Workers in Quebec
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
|
