Developments
on the Health Front in Quebec
Health Care Workers Massively Reject Government Offer
Demonstration
outside Quebec National Assembly September 15, 2020
On September 17, the Interprofessional Health Care Federation
of Quebec (FIQ) which represents nearly 76,000 health care workers,
announced that delegates from the FIQ and the FIQP/Private Sector,
meeting virtually as a special national council, unanimously rejected
the Quebec government's contract offer regarding working conditions.
According to the FIQ press release, the comprehensive proposal
presented last week does not respond to the much-discussed issues
raised by the nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists and
clinical perfusionists that the federation represents. "The
anger aroused by the employer's offers was unequivocal.
'Disrespectful', 'insulting' and 'despicable' were among the adjectives
used by the Federation delegates. While professionals were already
expressing their distress before the pandemic, the absence of real
measures regarding their working conditions in the current state is
nothing
more and nothing less than a total lack of respect from the government
for this workforce composed mainly of women," said Nancy
Bédard, President of the FIQ. The
Federation states that the time has more than come to move from public
relations statements in the media by the Minister of Health and Social
Services, who says he is aware of what he calls the "fragility" of the
health network, to concrete proposals at the negotiating table.
The FIQ deplores the fact that there is nothing in the
government's offer to alleviate the work overload. "There
are a set of crucial issues that revolve around this, such as safety
ratios, complete and stable work teams, and overtime, whether voluntary
or not. If this issue is not addressed head-on, the major shift needed
in the health network will not be possible," writes
Jérôme Rousseau, Vice-President and co-leader of
the negotiations. A thorny issue is the need for an
increase in the number of full-time professionals. According
to the FIQ, the government wants more health care professionals to work
full-time, but it is offering no incentives or guarantees for these
positions. The government does not want to address the problem of so
many health care professionals choosing to work part-time. Health care
professionals are doing this because the government
refuses to offer them full-time positions on a fully-staffed team, with
an adequate ratio of staff to patients, where they know their schedule
in advance, can count on being able to use their vacation and other
leave entitlements, and are not held hostage by mandatory overtime.
"A full-time position in a cage with double locked locks is
not something you want. How can we attract a new generation of
professionals and have more professionals who want to work full-time?"
writes Roberto Bomba, Treasurer and co-leader of negotiations. In
addition to their sectoral negotiations on working conditions, care
professionals are also involved in negotiations on compensation issues
including wages and the pension plan, in concert with the Alliance of
the Professional and Technical Health and Social Services Staff (APTS).
FIQ and APTS held a demonstration on September 15 in front
of the Quebec National Assembly, holding huge signs reading "We Are
Defending the Network against All Odds" and "We're Done Working
Ourselves Sick!" They firmly rejected the government's wage offer of a
five per cent increase over three years, which is basically the same
offer it made to them in May of this year.  "If anyone in
this government still had doubts about the health care professionals
and health and social services professionals and technicians truly
holding up the network, the last few months should have convinced them.
The pandemic added unbearable pressure on personnel who were already
pushed to the breaking point and without
resources. It has been almost a year since the start of negotiations
with the government. Clearly, they have still not grasped the urgency
of the situation. Their salary offer has been the same for months: a
pitiful five per cent increase over three years. For us, it is simply
unacceptable," said the APTS and FIQ Presidents Andrée
Poirier and Nancy
Bédard in a joint statement on September 15.
The
two
presidents stressed that the price currently paid by their members is
very high. For months now, family/work/personal life balance has not
existed for the personnel in the health and social service network.
"131,000 people, a vast majority of them women, work in appalling
conditions. Their physical and mental health are severely
affected. Throughout this pandemic, and despite the workload and long
hours at work, the lack of protective equipment, the mandatory overtime
and very unpredictable situations, our members once again answered the
call. They deserve the pendulum to swing fairly the other way."
The current wage demand of the two unions is
12.4 per cent over three years, which includes a 7.4 per cent wage
catch-up. "If our demand was fully deserved before the pandemic
started, it is even more justified now," both presidents said.
The APTS-FIQ Alliance points out that there is a direct
correlation between improving working conditions and attracting and
retaining staff and improving both safety and access to care and
services for the population. "The government has to
understand that everyone wins: the employees will have fairer
recognition of their work, the network will become more attractive to a
workforce that it sorely needs, and the population will be able to
count on more accessible care and services" concluded Poirier and
Bédard.
This article was published in
Number 63 - September 22, 2020
Article Link:
Developments
on the Health Front in Quebec: Health Care Workers Massively Reject Government Offer
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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