Ruby Pratka

Local Journalism Initiative reporter

editor@qctonline.com

Representatives of five public sector unions rejected an offer from Treasury Board president Sonia LeBel on Oct. 29 and confirmed plans to go ahead with brief strike actions next week.

Public sector unions rep- resented by the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), the Fédération des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ), the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS) and the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), which represent a total of about 500,000 workers in schools, hospitals, care homes and health and social service centres, have been in negotiations for more than a year. The CSQ, CSN, FTQ and APTS have been negotiating as a single bloc, the Front Commun.

Union leaders have said a proposed salary increase below the rate of inflation, pension penalties for employees who retire early, mandatory overtime for health-care workers and working conditions that discourage retention are major sticking points, and blasted the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government for the slow pace of negotiations. In mid- October, the Front Commun announced that a combined 95 per cent of its members had voted in favour of strike action up to and including an unlimited general strike. The Front Commun subsequently announced plans for a half-day strike Nov. 6. Union leaders said the short strike would go ahead despite the new offer; public schools will open at 10:30 a.m. that day and CEGEPs will open at noon.

“Today, we submitted significant proposals to the unions which could have a very positive impact on the current discussions,” LeBel said in a statement. “We must not forget that this negotiation must lead to gains for both sides. Yes, we must better pay state employees, but I also have the responsibility that each dollar from taxpayers’ pockets is maximized and has a long-term impact on our networks.”

The latest offer proposes a 10.3 per cent salary increase over five years, additional aides in elementary and high school classes, additional salary increases for nurses who work nights and weekends and a one-time bonus of $1,000 per worker.

FTQ president and Front Commun co-spokesperson Magali Picard said the salary increase was insufficient, and despite the end of the controversial penalties, the proposed pension structure deprived older workers of bonuses that their private-sector counterparts receive through the Régie des rentes du Québec (RRQ).

“With a [proposal] like the one that was made this morning, I can guarantee that the level of frustration will only rise,” Picard said.

LeBel said she was surprised by the “rapidity and vigour” with which the offer was rejected.

Nurses to strike Nov. 8-9

Representatives of the FIQ, which is not part of the Front Commun, announced strike plans shortly before LeBel’s most recent offer. They plan to hold a two-day strike on Nov. 8-9. “During negotiations, the government only wanted to speak about their demands – they had no openness to ours,” said Nancy Hogan, president of the Syndicat interprofessionnel du CHU de Québec (SICHU), a FIQ union which represents 4,500 professionals across the CHU de Québec hospital system, mostly nurses. “We were the guardian angels during the pandemic and now we’re the pawns. We want to move forward on work-life balance, the ratio of patients to professionals and the end of mandatory overtime, and we haven’t seen movement on that. We are missing 900 nurses and more than half of our staff quit after less than five years of service. How can we provide secure care under those conditions?”

FIQ treasurer Roberto Bom- ba said mandatory overtime makes it impossible for nurses, many of whom are parents, to plan their lives outside of work. “A lot of [nurses] leave [the public sector] and return via private agencies, and we can’t blame them – they’re trying to save themselves,” he said. Nurses “are dedicated professionals who go above and beyond for the population, and to get to this point emphasizes how difficult conditions are,” he said.

“Our working conditions are your caring conditions,” said Hogan, adding that the fact five union federations had voted to strike at once showed that “the time has come” for drastic action.

Late last week, Bomba said while the two-day strike will not affect emergency and critical care services, other hospital units staffed by FIQ members would see “a slowdown” on Nov. 8-9.

Bomba and Hogan were not available to comment on LeBel’s offer on Oct. 29. Another FIQ representative told the QCT via text message that the two-day strike would go ahead “more than ever.”