Sounding the Alarm on the Crisis in Quebec's Health Care Sector
- Pierre Soublière -
Quebec health and social services workers continue to organize
actions to inform people of their situation. Their collective agreement
expired at the end of March 2020 and no progress has been made in
negotiations. The Legault government has been ignoring not only their
demands, but the solutions they are putting forward to improve the
health system in times of the pandemic and overall.
The Legault government is completely oblivious to the serious
problems which its Ministerial Orders and various measures such as
reduced services have compounded, and continues to deal with social
issues in a law-and-order fashion. Its reaction to one of the workers'
actions, rallies on March 31 under the call "Sound the Alarm"
illustrates this. Workers organized demonstrations and various actions
to make themselves
heard on the first anniversary of the end of their collective agreement.
 The response of the Legault government was to, through its
Employers' Negotiating Committee, appeal to the Labour Court (TAT). The
latter, taking "sounding the alarm" literally, issued a warning on
March 30 as to what alarms the workers were "authorized" to set off,
stating that "no bells, alarm clocks, flutes, fire alarms, nor any
other
noisy instrument, are to be used." It even determined that these alarms
should be limited to cell phones or watches, and that they should not
be used more than four times per employee, for a maximum time of 30
seconds and at a reasonable volume!
Beyond the absurdity of all this, it is the reason given by the TAT
which is of concern; that is, it claims that its objective is to "avoid
all harm or threat of harm affecting a service to which the public is
entitled," as well as threats "to safe and continuous health and social
services to which the population is entitled." This is what is most
outrageous.
The week before the anniversary actions Premier Legault declared
that concerning the decisions with regard to the pandemic, he took
"sole responsibility." But responsibility is a term not to be taken
lightly. Is he ready to be held responsible, as those before him, for
all the measures which have caused and will continue to cause untold
hardships and avoidable deaths of health care workers and those in
their care? Health care workers, and workers in general, don't need the
courts to decide how they will take up their social responsibilities.
They have shown this time and time again, at the risk of their own
health and lives. Those in power must be held accountable for their
lack of social responsibility, if "rule of law" is to have any meaning
today.
This article was published in
May 5, 2021 - No. 41
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2021/Articles/WO08412.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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