Unions are calling for a meeting with the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, in order to find solutions to fill the thousands of vacant positions in the Quebec public service hard hit by the labor shortage.
A few days before the presentation of the next budget of the Legault government, union representatives appeared before the media on Monday to share their expectations.
For lack of sufficient manpower, they deplore a management “with sudden additional time” expensive for the State.
“The list of shortage jobs in the public service is as long as your arm: psychologists, veterinarians, agronomists, inspectors, architects, computer scientists and so on,” said the president of the Syndicate of professionals and professionals of the government of Quebec (SPGQ), Line Lamarre.
Many consequences
Computer shift in jeopardy, increasing waiting times, risk to the health and safety of workers, particularly among correctional officers: the list of effects of this labor shortage is also very long, according to them.
This is why they are urgently calling for reinvestment in the working conditions of these employees, similar to what has been done for teachers and health workers, in order to stem their exodus to private, federal and municipal.
“In 2021, we have 20 people who have left for another job and 20 others who have retired. At this rate, it is certain that we will eventually have to place our name on the list of vulnerable and threatened species, ”imaged the president of the Syndicat des agents de protection de la faune du Québec (SAFPQ), Martin Perreault.
At zero cost
According to them, this reinvestment could be done at zero cost to taxpayers. It would suffice for Quebec to transfer approximately $1.5 billion, invested today in subcontracting, into its public services.
“We are not saying to completely remove subcontracting, but let’s keep it only in areas where it is capable of having long-term projects, validated by the public service”, explained the general president of the Union of the public and parapublic service of Quebec (SFPQ), Christian Daigle.
In addition to the SPGQ, the SAFPQ and the SFPQ, the Professional Association of Government Engineers of Quebec (APIGQ) and the Union of Peace Officers in Correctional Services of Quebec (SAPSCQ-CSN) were represented on Monday.