The Quebec Interprofessional Health Federation (FIQ) has reached an agreement in principle with the Quebec government. The union, which has some 80,000 members, will submit the proposed agreement to its union representatives during a federal council which will be held from Tuesday to Thursday.
The union made the announcement via press release early Tuesday morning. “Out of respect for the members and activists, the FIQ will not comment on the content of the possible agreement in principle until then,” it is written. If the proposal is adopted by the activists, it will be presented to the members and will be the subject of a referendum vote.
Contacted following the publication of this press release, the office of the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, confirms that a proposed agreement in principle has been concluded with the FIQ. “For the moment, the content of this agreement will remain confidential until the vote of the members,” said Sonia LeBel in a written statement. Out of respect for the process, we will not comment further. »
In interview at Duty two weeks ago, one of the co-leaders of the negotiations at the FIQ, Jérôme Rousseau, indicated that the question of ratios of patients per professional was “not resolved”. “We are aware on both sides, the government and us, that it is not tomorrow morning that this can be put in place,” he affirmed. On the other hand, what are we doing now so that in five years, at the next collective agreement, there is already good progress? And so much the better if we are able to start deploying ratios in the coming years. That’s the objective. »
According to the FIQ, the same offers as those accepted by the Common Front were on the table concerning “voluntary” travel between hospitals and facilities as well as recognition of the seniority of professionals who left the public network for the private sector. . The union organization, which represents nurses, practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists, is one of the last unions not to have reached an agreement with the Quebec government.
The members of the Health and Social Services Federation (FSSS-CSN) accepted the agreement in principle reached with the government a month ago. Union members who voluntarily travel to a hospital other than their own will be entitled to a lump sum of $50 or $100 per day, in addition to reimbursement based on their mileage. Everyone – attendants and nurses alike – will also be able to self-manage their schedules if they wish. They will be entitled to a salary increase of 17.4% over five years, like other Common Front union members.
The Health Federation (FSQ), affiliated with the CSQ, still negotiates with Quebec, in the presence of a conciliator. According to its president Isabelle Dumaine, with whom The duty communicated early Tuesday morning, the parties do not agree on the payment of overtime as well as on the definition of “center of activities” which would allow, according to it, “the employer to create the same center of activities on several sites. “This could possibly lead to travel,” says Isabelle Dumaine. If we say that all CHSLDs become a center of activity, I could definitely walk from one CHSLD to another. » The delegates who are members of the union’s federal council rejected the sectoral agreement proposal by 98% in January.