October 7, 2020

Meeting in a virtual Provincial Council, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec – FIQ delegates and those of the FIQ | Secteur privé learned about the progress at the bargaining table for the renewal of the collective agreement of the 76,000 members that they represent. “The progress report presented to the province’s union representatives received a very chilly welcome. We are returning to the bargaining table, but we already have a meeting scheduled with our delegates on October 13^th. Until then, the government has to agree with some of our demands that are important and essential for our members, because otherwise, the healthcare professionals will be taking drastic means of action and visibility. The government must get the message: they have five days to avoid an uprising of nurses, licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists in the province”, stated Nancy Bédard, president of the FIQ.

Significant gains, nothing less!

While the work at the bargaining table has been going on for months, no concrete proposal that significantly changes the working and practice conditions has been offered to the healthcare professionals. “We are no longer at the stage of openings here and there. Patience has its limits. Healthcare professionals have had enough! They no longer want to suffer the bad choices of the past, but even more, they can no longer accept the lack of measures by a government that repeats day after day that they are important. Recognition in words, they receive this every day from patients and their families. What they expect from the government is the working conditions they have deserved for a long time. The context of the pandemic and the government’s treatment of them with numerous ministerial orders has simply added oil to the fire of their anger. We have reached a breaking point and the government needs to understand this”, concluded Ms. Bédard.