Anniversary of Unacceptable Quebec Ministerial Order -- Scrap the Order!

- Pierre Soublière -

March 21, on the first anniversary of the enactment of Ministerial Order 007 and following the government announcement that it would renew the order, the Quebec Interprofessional Federation of Health (FIQ) officially asked for a meeting with the Prime Minister of Quebec as well as with the Minister of Health and Social Services. An FIQ communiqué points out: "One year ago today was enacted one of the most freedom-destroying Ministerial Orders in the history of labour laws." This order suspended the application of the collective agreement in order to secure the required personnel to face the anticipated hospital overcrowding due to COVID-19. The union observes that the number of hospitalizations has gone down and the number of cases is stable in Quebec. Yet, the order is still in force. Nurses feel betrayed and consider that the order was to be used as an exception under precise circumstances. Unfortunately, it is still being used indiscriminately by a large number of health care managers.

The union wants to put an end to Ministerial Order 007 and discuss alternative solutions with regards to working conditions as upheld in the collective agreement of health professionals and, more specifically, make sure they will have holidays next summer. This order stipulates that health system managers have the authority, among other things, to suspend or cancel all forms of leave including holidays which were already booked, which is what they have been doing for the past year.

The FIQ points out that abusive use of Order 007 has had devastating effects on the morale of health professionals, leading to burn-outs and to workers leaving the profession in droves. It wants to avoid at all costs that the health staffing crisis gets worse than it already is. It gives examples of how in certain regions such as the Outaouais the increase in full-time employees (on the basis of forcing part-time workers to work full time) has been maintained, 12-hour shifts are still in force in a number of centres and relocation to different shifts continues to be imposed.

The FIQ states that it was never an issue that Order 007 would be used as a threat to cancel holidays in case of staff shortages. It says, with regards to the measures taken against health workers: "They have violated our rights, without the slightest goodwill, without taking into account the efforts of health professionals to balance work, family and personal life. The least we would expect would be that we be shown some concern, some respect, and that no efforts would be spared so that we feel listened to and supported, including re-establishing acceptable working conditions."

In a press conference in Trois-Rivières, Prime Minister Legault continued to show total disregard for the legitimate preoccupations of health professionals and the destructive impact of their conditions on the health system itself. He upheld that the government would still have to keep the emergency order in place and that he was counting on his Health Minister to "bring the FIQ to its senses." "No one can achieve the impossible," he added.

How can it be "impossible" for a government to simply sit down with health workers and discuss the alternative solutions they are proposing to improve both their working conditions and the health conditions of the population? It is the Legault government which finds it impossible to take up its social responsibilities. It is definitely not impossible to imagine what it would be like to have a government made up of workers who can and do most diligently take up their social responsibilities and seek solutions beneficial to those who do the work and for the general well-being of society.

(Photos: FIQ. Quotations translated from original French by WF.)

This article was published in

March 29, 2021 - No. 23

Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08234.HTM

    

Website:  www.cpcml.ca   Email:  editor@cpcml.ca