Like the Common Front, members of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) will obtain salary increases of 17.4%, if the agreement in principle ratified on Thursday is accepted by the members.
The delegates endorsed on Thursday the proposed agreement in principle concluded with Quebec. The agreement will now be presented to members at local general meetings. The voting period will be held on April 10, 11 and 12.
“It is our members who will decide whether they accept the government’s offer or not. The FIQ’s democratic process is rigorous and it is important for us to let democracy take its course. That said, we believe we have negotiated an offer that reflects and respects the specificities of our members’ daily lives,” declared the president of the FIQ, Julie Bouchard, in a press release.
The Federation gave some details Thursday evening on the content of the agreement in principle. These include the supervision of compulsory overtime, which should only be used in cases of emergency, funds dedicated to catching up on surgeries, the gradual elimination of the use of independent labor and the prioritization of healthcare professionals from the public health network in the choice of schedules.
The agreement provides for a 17.4% salary increase. Agreed bonuses have also been negotiated for critical periods, namely during the holidays and summer.
The FIQ obtained a commitment from the government for the gradual implementation of ratios. The union has been calling for safe professional/patient ratios for several years.
Few details are available on the “flexibility” aspect, a bone of contention between the FIQ and Quebec for weeks. The union opposed the idea of forcing nurses to change establishments or care units to compensate for staff shortages. For its part, the government assured that the trips would be done on a voluntary basis.
The agreement ultimately provides training for healthcare professionals, as well as maintenance of acquired skills during voluntary travel, indicates the FIQ in its press release.
“An important step has been taken by the endorsement of the proposed agreement in principle by the FIQ delegates, but it is not finished,” declared the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia Lebel on the social network x.
The union, which represents some 80,000 nurses, practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists, called on a conciliator on December 19 in the hope of resolving the impasse in negotiations.