An agreement in principle was reached between Quebec and nearly 1,700 paramedics as part of negotiations for the renewal of collective agreements in the pre-hospital emergency services sector.
The office of Sonia LeBel, President of the Treasury Board and Minister of Government Administration, announced Tuesday evening the conclusion of an agreement with the paramedic ambulance technicians represented by the Federation of Pre-Hospital Employees of Quebec (FPHQ) and the unionized ambulance workers of Beauce inc. (TABSI).
In a press release, Quebec speaks of an agreement which “will not only allow an improvement in remuneration and working conditions, but will also promote the development of accessibility to front-line services for the population”.
The FPHQ also confirmed in a post on Facebook that the parties had reached an agreement in principle, the terms of which will be presented to its members at meetings.
“We believe that this agreement in principle meets the objectives set by the two member unions of the alliance”, can we read in a correspondence from the FPHQ and TABSI addressed to their members, dated Monday.
In a joint press release, Minister LeBel and her health colleague, Christian Dubé, also welcomed the news.
“I would like to thank all of the negotiating teams for their efforts over the past few months. I am satisfied with the result we have achieved,” commented the Chair of the Conseil du trésor.
Minister Dubé believes that the agreement “will make it possible to continue to improve front-line services, for the benefit of Quebecers”.
“It is by promoting services upstream of emergencies that our work organization will be more efficient, as we indicated in the Health plan,” he said.