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FIQ (Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec)

Who is negotiating?

Your Negotiating Committee

The Negotiating Committee is at the heart of the negotiations. It supports the members’ demands and takes proposals and counterproposals to the bargaining table. The members of the Negotiating Committee must have an overall view of everything that influences the negotiations and take into account the professional diversity of the FIQ. The union reps elected to the Negotiating Committee will work in close collaboration with two political officers jointly responsible for the negotiations and union consultants. They were elected by all the representatives from the affiliated unions and took over their duties at the end of April 2022.

The members of the Negotiating Committee were elected on April 12, 2022. Their mandate began on April 25, 2022.

From left to right: NATHALIE LEVESQUE, Vice-President, licensed practical nurses reserved position, joint officer for Labour Relations and Negotiations, CISSS de la Montérégie-Est; JÉRÔME SAVARD, Licensed Practical Nurse, CIUSSS du Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean; STELLA LAROCHELLE, Nurse, CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal; PASCAL BEAULIEU, Nurse, CHU de Québec; CINDIE SOUCY, Nurse, CISSS du Bas-Saint-Laurent; NATHALIE PERRON, Nurse Clinician, CIUSSS de la Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du-Québec; MYLÈNE DUROCHER, Respiratory Therapist, CHUM; JULIE CÔTÉ, Respiratory Therapist, CISSS de la Montérégie-Centre; JÉRÔME ROUSSEAU, Nurse, Vice-President Organization of Work and Professional Practice and Negotiations, Institut universitaire de cardiologie et pneumologie de Québec.

Who are the Negotiating Committee members?

Pascal Beaulieu

Nurse, CHU de Québec

Profile

My experience as a union rep…

I have been a union rep since 2001. I was a grievance agent at the Hôpital de l’Enfant-Jésus (HEJ). I was there when the merger happened, which led to the creation of the Centre hospitalier affilié (CHA), that of the HEJ and the Hôpital Saint-Sacrement. I was also there for the creation of the FIIQ+. I was also there for the merger of the CHA and CHUQ to form the CHU de Québec as we know it today. I have been the vice-president for labour relations since 2015. I have been on the Education-Animation Committee and the FIQ’s Internal Audit Committee.

My motivation for wanting to be on the Negotiating Committee…

I became involved in my union because I was upset by what was happening in the health network. I wanted to help improve our working conditions. I discovered I really liked it and I progressed in various roles, both in defending the voices of the members I represented and advancing our working conditions. I am persistent, tenacious and articulate. I am someone who likes working on a team, brings people together, and am a very good listener. I like playing a positive leadership role.

My family…

I am the father of 15-year-old twin girls, and I have a 19-year-old son.

A funny detail about me…

I am no good at remembering names. I know someone, I know who they are, but I can’t come up with their name. But I really try, you have no idea how hard!

Julie Côté

Respiratory Therapist, CISSS de la Montérégie-Centre

Profile

My experience as a union rep…

I joined my local union team in 2010 as respiratory therapist vice-president. I was elected to the provincial youth committee in 2011, I was on the first ad hoc MOT committee and I was on the respiratory therapist tactical committee team before joining the Negotiating Committee.

My motivation for wanting to be on the Negotiating Committee…

I believe we have to get involved to properly understand the processes and to try to find the best solutions for us. The representativity and motivation I see in the committee members pushes me to double my efforts, to take my reflections to the limit of what I can imagine, and allows me to take part in a mobilizing, concrete project for the day-to-day of the members we represent.

My family…

I am the mother of two boys who are 8 and 10 years old.

A funny detail about me…

I love objects with skulls and my collection is growing! I like boardgames and video games, metal and alternative music and B movies.

Mylène Durocher

Respiratory Therapist, CHUM

Profile

My experience as a union rep…

I have been involved in my union since 2001 with pay relativity/equity, but also to demand pay for our meal breaks since we had to be available. Next, I fought for the critical care premium in the operating room, and then was the representative for my department, especially for the CHUM merger/move. I agreed to replace the treasurer in 2016 and then was elected in 2017. I was also on a respiratory therapist tactical committee, a pay equity committee (including its creation), and I was elected to the Negotiating Committee.

My motivation for wanting to be on the Negotiating Committee…

I see the Negotiating Committee as the next logical step in my union involvement. I believe that if we really want things to change, we have to get involved and show interest. I really want change. I am interested and I like getting involved. There’s no better place to try and improve the situation than on this multitalented team. I believe I can strengthen this team just as it enriches me and enables me to fully use my skill set. My goal is for these negotiations to move members, for us to fight for mandatory fair and reasonable working conditions and salaries. For us to collectively step out of this passivity, this daze that puts us to sleep and has us accepting the unacceptable.

My family…

I am the mother of two girls who are 23 and 26 years old.

A funny detail about me…

I am someone who likes to tell old stories and laugh about them. I have another passion: writing letters of dissatisfaction and criticism to just about everyone. I am a good complainer!

Stella Larochelle

Nurse, CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal

Profile

My experience as a union rep…

I graduated as a nurse in Haïti. I arrived in Quebec in 2010 as a worker qualified for the nurse recruitment outside of Quebec. I completed a training update before taking the OIIQ exam and obtaining my practice licence in 2012. One day, I noticed that I hadn’t been paid the assistant-head-nurse premium. My interactions with the payroll service didn’t get me anywhere. I was told to go see my union. My union followed up and I was paid retroactively. Since 2013, I have been interested in union life with the goal of standing up for our rights as healthcare workers. I had the following positions on my local union team at the Santa Cabrini Hospital: nurse vice-president, grievance agent, officer for status of women, disability and mobilization. I was also the local president for approximately two years. After the merger, things changed a lot and now I am a vice-president on my local executive committee. I am also on the FIQ’s ad hoc anti-racism committee.

My motivation for wanting to be on the Negotiating Committee…

I am a determined, motivated and perceptive woman. Faced with all of the staff shortage issues, outrage at the daily suffering of our healthcare professionals and the violation of our working conditions by coercive management practices, all of these things, as well as my union rep experience, made me want to run for the Negotiating Committee. I want to work toward obtaining a provincial collective agreement that reflects the true issues and needs of healthcare professionals.

My family…

I am the mother of three boys who are 19, 21, and 23 years old and a girl who is 11 years old.

A funny detail about me…

I am very optimistic and positive in life. I always see the bright side of things. I like to laugh and take on new challenges. My motto: Better to fail than not to try. There is no defeat in life. It is part of our life experiences. It helps us to mature, grow and progress.

Nathalie Perron

Nurse Clinician, CIUSSS de la Mauricie-et-du-Centre-du-Québec

Profile

My experience as a union rep…

I was already curious and involved in my third year as a healthcare professional, then as a union rep. I have been on the FIQ’s Education-Animation Committee. From 2005 to 2013, I was nurse vice-president. And I have been the president of my local union since 2014.

My motivation for wanting to be on the Negotiating Committee…

My goal is to amplify the voices of my colleagues in every job class. We need a major change in health care, and above all, more humane conditions. We have beautiful professions, but our collective choices need to be put into action through these negotiations. After several years of union involvement at the FIQ and as a woman, it is important to me to help defend our working conditions by getting involved in negotiations. Change happens through involvement, and it is my hope that every member can get involved so that we can work in safer, more humane environments. We deserve better and my goal is that together we demand better working conditions!

My family…

I am the mother of two boys who are 28 and 18 years old and a girl who is 19 years old.

A funny detail about me…

I like to see the glass as half full and believe that everything is possible. People say I am an eternal optimist, to the point that my colleagues sometimes think I am in unicorn land. A motto I like: Don’t look for happiness, create it!

Jérôme Savard

Licensed Practical Nurse, CIUSSS du Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean

Profile

My experience as a union rep…

I have been active in union life since 2012. I am currently the VP of labour relations on my local union team. I have been a member on various FIQ provincial committees: Policy Implementation and Monitoring Committee for the Policy on the Fair Representation of Women in Positions of Power and Decision-Making, Education-Animation Committee, Ad hoc MOT Committee. I have also participated in local negotiations in my institution.

My motivation for wanting to be on the Negotiating Committee…

My main motivation is to be able to help make real changes to working conditions for myself and my colleagues. Since my mother, spouse, one of my sisters and one of my brothers-in-law are also healthcare professionals, it affects me personally and I want to get involved to improve our working conditions.

My family…

I am the father of three boys who are 2, 3, and 5 years old and a girl who is 9 years old.

A funny detail about me…

I am known for being the comedian on the team. I love making jokes to lighten the mood, especially when work hours are long.

Cindie Soucy

Nurse, CISSS du Bas-St-Laurent

Profile

My experience as a union rep…

Over the last 12 years, I have gotten involved at every level of my local union and was also the president for four years. My very first battle was to get recognition for nursing extern experience for myself and my colleagues.

My motivation for wanting to be on the Negotiating Committee…

As a union rep, I met several union delegates from various regions. I noticed that we have the same problems with and abuse from the employer despite our differences. My experience and deep values of equity and justice motivated me to get further involved, to participate in provincial negotiations. I want to work to find long-term solutions for all healthcare professionals in Quebec. I believe that our work and expertise are worth fighting for and that we must fight to stop the deterioration of our working conditions and to ensure they are improved at every level! I am thinking primarily of our work-personal life balance, because on top of being healthcare professionals, we are individuals with a family that also needs us!

My family…

I am the mother of two boys who are 17 and 24 years old and a girl who is 21 years old.

A funny detail about me…

Sometimes I give out my best friend’s cell phone number! So, she gets calls that aren’t for her!

Nathalie Levesque

Vice-President, licensed practical nurses reserved position, joint officer for Labour Relations and Negotiations, CISSS de la Montérégie-Est,, FIQ Executive Committee

Jérôme Rousseau

Nurse, Vice-President Organization of Work and Professional Practice and Negotiations, Institut universitaire de cardiologie et pneumologie de Québec,, FIQ Executive Committee

The employer party

The FIQ Negotiating Committee negotiates with the employer negotiating committee chosen by the Québec government. This committee is part of a much larger multi-tiered bargaining structure.

The FIQ negotiations are said to be collective, which means that the working conditions of healthcare professionals are negotiated collectively. Collective bargaining makes it possible to have a balance of power against the employer and to ensure equity between employees.

In addition to being the employer and negotiator, the government is also the legislator. Therefore, they can pass and implement laws and policies that serve their strategies.