February 1, 2016

Even if it already started a few months ago, the reorganization of the health network continues to take up a lot of the healthcare professionals’ energy, among other things because it changes and makes their workplaces more difficult.

For example, with the new structures come new managers with whom the workers must learn to deal. And, the services are rearranged, merged or even moved, in such a way that they can feel a little lost when it comes to who to speak to. Not easy to follow and to navigate. During this time, the innovations that apply to products, procedures and equipment continue to appear on a regular basis, always disrupting the way of doing things.

In short, the changes in the healthcare setting are so many and quick that they force the healthcare professionals to constantly adjust. They must use their ability to react in order to fit into this movement, failing which their skills, know-how and even their personal skills could become obsolete. The updating of their skills is therefore necessary, and this, not only so that they can keep up with the pace, but also because these developments often raise major issues in occupational health and safety. In fact, all these changes can present a potential risk that the workers must know about, but above all must master sufficiently to be able to protect their health and safety as well as that of their colleagues. In this context, there is a flagrant need for training/education.

Many of the employers often offer training too late, once the damage is done. They react to various warning signs such as an increase in the rate of absenteeism, an increase in the frequency and the seriousness of work accidents or a rise in certain health problems (stress, musculoskeletal disorders, depression, cardiovascular disorders, etc.). Training must then be provided with a certain level of urgency, to try and curb these troubles or to respond to the needs of the workers who are victims of them, sometimes in a deteriorated social climate or under the threat of reprisals. So, ideally, training needs to be dispensed in a proactive manner, with the goal of promoting the adaptation of the organization and the workers to the risks associated with the organizational changes or the modifications of the equipment, tools, methods and procedures. Therefore, we are talking about prevention, an investment intimately linked to the improvement of health and safety, but also the motivation, commitment and mobilization of the workers.

The healthcare professionals, faced with an employer who perceives training as an expense instead of an investment, must make the required demands so that their needs are met. That is a key tool for them in being an asset for the organization, but also an essential tool for encouraging a feeling of occupational health and safety, competence, motivation and mobilization.

Do you know ?

In the event of difficulty obtaining the training corresponding to your needs, talk to your local union team who can inform you and support you in your steps.

Section 51 of an Act respecting occupational health and safety (OHS Act) sets out that the employer is obliged, among other things, to “give the worker adequate information as to the risks connected with his work and provide him with the appropriate training, assistance or supervision to ensure that he possesses the skill and knowledge required to safely perform the work assigned to him.”

If this is not already the case, a joint committee can be formed in every institution, to head the human resources development plan (HRDP).

Clause 16.01 of the FIQ collective agreement stipulates that the employer must devote an amount equivalent to 1.34% of the wage bill for human resources development of all the employees in the bargaining unit from April 1 to March 31 of each year.