Meeting Workers' Demands Is
Key to Control COVID-19
Condemnation of the Use of Ministerial Orders Against Saguenay--Lac-St-Jean Health Care Workers
Health care workers in the
Saguenay--Lac-Saint-Jean region of Quebec firmly oppose the use of government
ministerial orders to impose untenable conditions on them, in the name
of curbing the second wave of COVID-19. Outbreaks of the virus are on
the rise in the region. On November 24, Public Health confirmed 1,103
active cases in the area and
103 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. On November 24 alone,
it confirmed 104 new cases and seven new deaths. Hospitalizations related
to COVID-19 are also on the rise. It is estimated that there are
currently over 120 outbreaks in the region, in almost every sector:
hospitals, residential and long-term care centres (CHSLDs), private
residences for the elderly, childcare facilities, schools and workplaces unrelated to health care.
 Health care
workers report that the response of the Saguenay--Lac-St-Jean
Integrated Centre for Health and Social Services (CIUSSS) is to use the
Legault government's ministerial orders to change at will the working
conditions of staff without consultation and their authorization which,
in the case of unionized staff, is in violation of their
collective agreements.
For example, 12-hour shifts have now been imposed
on nurses and orderlies at the Alma Hospital, as well as on all nursing
staff and orderlies working in certain CHSLDs. According to CIUSSS
management, the reorganization of schedules must remain in effect until
the end of the outbreak. In addition, the CIUSSS has begun applying the
ministerial order to force part-time nursing staff to work in areas
where there are outbreaks.
Julie Bouchard, President of the
Saguenay--Lac-St-Jean Union of Health Care Professionals, strongly
condemned these measures. She pointed out that they may lead to more
resignations and sick leave. "It will not help the health care community if we
lose them because of this," she told the press. She deplored the fact
that all the working conditions of nursing staff have been set aside
without their consent and that the Quebec government refuses to
implement the solutions proposed by the union to improve working
conditions to keep staff at
work and attract others.
"We want professional-ratio patient care in order
to provide quality and safe care to the population. We also want
full-time work to be reinvented. For example, four days could be
considered as full-time to encourage people to join the network." 
July 9, 2020. Health care workers
in Saguenay--Lac-St.-Jean rally in support of their demands.
Before the start of the pandemic, the regional chapter of the Interprofessional Health Care Federation of Quebec (FIQ) evaluated the need for nurses and registered nursing assistants (RNAs) at
approximately 200. Professionals who have left the workplace (for
health reasons for example) or who have since moved to administrative
duties, along with early retirements, have added to the shortage.
According to Julie Bouchard, another
75 nurses, RNAs and respiratory therapists who have withdrawn since
the beginning of the second wave must be added to the shortfall.
On November 21, nurses in the obstetrics
department at the Alma Hospital informed the union that they are
considering resigning en masse as a result of untenable conditions, in
particular the mandatory 12-hour shifts, to which mandatory overtime is
sometimes added.
A letter by one of them addressed to the union was
published in part in a regional newspaper. In it, the worker explains
that besides being a nurse, she is also a single mother with two
children. She is unable to fulfill both roles under the current
conditions.
"I can't even stay until 8:00 pm ... what are my
children going to do between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm?" she writes.
"Who's going to pick them up from daycare, make them supper, do
homework, bathe and tuck them in? And then pick up my dirty dishes,
wash my soiled hospital clothes, prepare their lunch and mine for the
next day, along
with my supper, as the cafeteria isn't open during the evening?"
Julie Bouchard talks about the distress these
employees are experiencing: "It's a cry from the heart from the girls. It's a
cry for help because they can't take it anymore."
She notes that the health system is at its limit
and that a serious change in working conditions, based on the demands
of health care personnel, is necessary to curb COVID-19.
These events reveal that the government and the
administrations it has put in place as part of its restructuring of the
health system have no other response to the crisis of COVID-19 than to
destroy the workforce that sustains the system and prevents it from
collapsing completely, thus further aggravating all the problems.
It is urgent that the demands and solutions put
forward by health care workers be implemented.
This article was published in
Number 80 - November 26, 2020
Article Link:
Meeting Workers' Demands Is
Key to Control COVID-19: Condemnation of the Use of Ministerial Orders Against Saguenay--Lac-St-Jean Health Care Workers
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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