Québec, le 23 February 2026 — Labour organizations representing the health, social services and education networks are today filing constitutional challenges before the Superior Court seeking to invalidate the discriminatory provisions of Bill 28, An Act to improve certain labor laws, which originated from Bill 101.

This law excludes workers from these sectors from the general health and safety prevention program, although intended for all workplaces in Québec, relegating them to inferior preventive measures. The spokespersons for the labour organizations are united in condemning a decision that perpetuates a historical disadvantage for women, since this exclusion has a particularly severe impact on sectors where they are in the majority.

“The government is well aware that it is the workers in these sectors who face the highest health and safety risks. The Labour Minister himself acknowledged and denounced this historical discrimination in 2021. And yet, four years later, he chose to exclude them from the general prevention program. This discrimination and this direct violation of the right to equality cannot be tolerated”, jointly stated the union spokespeople Robert Comeau (APTS), Caroline Senneville (CSN), Éric Gingras (CSQ), Mélanie Hubert (FAE), Julie Bouchard (FIQ) and Olivier Carrière (FTQ).

Remember that in 2021, Québec had finally modernized its occupational health and safety regime through An Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime (LMRSST), allowing workers in historically neglected sectors to obtain the same protections that had been available in industrial settings since 1979. The Regulation respecting prevention and participation mechanisms should complete this rollout in 2025, taking into account the real risks and realities specific to women. However, by passing Bill 28, the government chose to remove the health, social services, and education sectors from the plan, relegating them to significantly lower prevention measures, even compared to those provided for the least risky sectors of the economy. This is despite the fact that in 2024, more than a third of all recognized workplace accidents in Québec occurred in the education, healthcare, and social assistance sectors. And why? Because it would cost the government too much.

“We refuse to accept that women who care for, teach, accompany, and support our society should be relegated to second-class status. We must speak out, challenge, and fight for the workers we represent, for our society, but also for patients, children, and the entire population who depend on our public networks.”

The labour organizations reaffirm their determination to obtain justice and recognition that the exclusion imposed by Bill 28 is not only unjustified, but also unconstitutional. They are demanding that Section 46 of the Act be invalidated and that health care, social services, and education workers finally receive the protections to which they are entitled.

Organizations contesting Bill 28 and participating in the coordinated filing of appeals:

Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS)

Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN)

• Fédération des employées et employés de services publics (FEESP–CSN)
• Fédération nationale des enseignantes et des enseignants du Québec (FNEEQ–CSN)
• Fédération des professionnèles (FP–CSN)
• Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS–CSN)

Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) 

• Fédération des syndicats de l’enseignement (FSE-CSQ)
• Fédération du personnel de soutien scolaire (FPSS-CSQ)
• Fédération du personnel professionnel de l’éducation (FPPE-CSQ)
• Fédération du personnel de l’enseignement privé (FPEP-CSQ)
• Fédération de la santé du Québec (FSQ-CSQ)
• Association provinciale des enseignantes et enseignants du Québec (APEQ)

Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE) 

Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) 

Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ) 

• Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique, SCFP (FTQ)Syndicat des employées et employés professionnels-les et de bureau, SEPB (FTQ)
• Syndicat québécois des employées et employés de service, section locale 298, SQEES-298 (FTQ)
• Union des employés et employées de service, UES 800 (FTQ)