There Are Limits Say Quebec Health Care Professionals
The Legault government is attempting to divide the population with the claim that the government's "ability to pay" must be respected. This was a claim echoed by Éric Girard, Minister of Finance, during the tabling of the economic update on November 7. This is a non-starter for care professionals and for all workers in the Common Front.
Prior to this, on November 3, the government threatened to abolish nurses' 3.5 per cent bonus as of November 5. This bonus was negotiated during the renewal of the 2020-2023 collective agreement. "One of the biggest demands of care professionals is that they be respected. By playing with their income, in an arbitrary and cavalier manner, the government is once again demonstrating its contempt for the women who work at arm's length from the health care network," said Nathalie Levesque, Vice-President and co-chair of the negotiations for the Interprofessional Health Federation of Quebec (FIQ).
"There are limits," the care professionals have declared in a unified voice.
"We're on strike because the government refuses to listen to us. The wage increase proposals will make us poorer, since they don't even cover inflation. And above all, the government wants to take a care professional and move her anywhere it pleases. It's madness, and we won't stand for it. It's inhumane for the workers and downright dangerous for the patients. We've reached a breaking point in the health care network, and the government wants to further degrade working conditions. Our message to them today is that if they continue to ignore the health of the public network, they will find us all in their path. Our working conditions are the health care conditions of all Quebeckers," affirmed Julie Bouchard, President of the FIQ.
(With files from FIQ. Quotations translated from original French by TML.)
This article was published in
Number 60
- December 3, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10604.HTM
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