Négociation nationale 2020

The FIQ delegates unanimously reject the employer offers

The FIQ delegates unanimously reject the employer offers

While every day the COVID-19 pandemic shows the need to improve the Québec healthcare professionals’ working conditions, today, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec–FIQ and FIQ | Secteur privé–FIQP delegates unanimously rejected the latest offers from the government, as they feel they are unacceptable and insulting.

“Our union representatives are offended and their message is clear: we will never sign a cut-rate agreement, stated the president of the FIQ, Nancy Bédard. We are a long way from an agreement. There is absolutely nothing for the healthcare professionals in this offer. For years they have been falling in battle, are overworked, exhausted and in psychological distress. Lasting solutions must be found and we have proposed several.”

The government must get actively involved at the bargaining table on working conditions, a table they proposed themselves to set up, and show openness and good faith for the solutions proposed by the FIQ now. It’s a question of the quality and safety of the care given to Québec patients.

“Our priorities are still the same: stabilize the work teams and ensure attraction and retention of personnel in the network. Now is the time to lay the groundwork for attracting professionals to the network. By putting an end to mandatory overtime, making full-time positions attractive, in particular by implementing safe healthcare professional-to-patient ratios, for example. Not when it is too late,” stated Roberto Bomba, Political Officer for the negotiations.

“We are ready to improve the healthcare professionals’ working conditions and the government has an obligation and duty to be also”, declared Ms. Bédard.

APTS-FIQ Alliance disappointed with the salary offers

The salary offers of a 5% increase over three years are a long way from satisfying the APTS and FIQ members’ expectations. What’s more, the joint committees proposed on the pension plan and parental rights only push taking important decisions to a later date.

“If Mr. Dubé wants to settle quickly, he has to improve his salary offer, said the presidents of the APTS, Andrée Poirier, and FIQ, Nancy Bédard. There is almost nothing more in this offer than the one we rejected in December. The salary increase for the beneficiary attendants will not resolve our members’ excessive workload problem.”

The APTS-FIQ Alliance does not understand the government’s stubbornness in wanting to implement a forum on overall health either. We already said no to the forum on overall health. Why is the government going to such lengths? It doesn’t matter how small an amount is associated with it”, declared the presidents.

On Tuesday, the FIQ union representatives rejected the government’s salary offer at a virtual meeting. The APTS will inform its delegation about the offer presented to the APTS-FIQ Alliance on Friday.