Mr. Prime Minister Legault,
As a human relations officer for the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal, the salary offer made to healthcare workers leaves me perplexed and speechless. Quebec has made very specific societal choices, namely to invest in the health, security and education of its population in order to ensure that it can meet its various needs and evolve favorably.
However, for these choices to become reality, it requires investments and recognition of workers who directly respond to the needs of populations. Their work is in some way a response to the societal ideals that we have established together. However, when we see the salary increases granted to the law enforcement sectors, it seems that this is the only sector that benefits from your support and recognition.
It is important to emphasize that the work of police officers is essential and critical for the proper functioning of our society. On the other hand, the work of health and social services workers — jobs that are predominantly female, it must be emphasized — is just as necessary and essential to the protection of citizens and their children.
The working conditions of health workers are arduous, nurses and other health workers are tested by the post-pandemic work context and are forced to work compulsory overtime, at the risk of endangering their health and time. dedicated to their own family. As for social workers, their practice is also essential.
These stakeholders assume the societal responsibility to ensure that vulnerable families and individuals can alleviate their difficulties and continue to contribute to society. Their interventions help reduce the economic impacts that the psychosocial difficulties of vulnerable populations can have on the health system.
Difficult contexts
With regard more specifically to DYP workers, if they have the mandate to ensure that children develop favorably and that they are not subject to various abuses and forms of neglect, the context in which they practice their interventions are extremely difficult. It is not uncommon for workers to be victims of verbal and physical attacks, threats or intimidation. When they are worried about their own safety, they are required to continue their intervention because their mandate responds to one of our societal choices: to protect children.
You justify the salary increases for police officers by the fact that each shift represents a risk for their physical safety and by the shortage of police officers. But isn’t this also true for nurses and social workers, particularly those from the DPJ? The labor shortage can be explained, among other things, by poor working conditions within social and health services.
It is not surprising that workers are leaving en masse for other fields or private agencies that pay better and offer better working conditions. So why such a big salary distinction between these professions, when they are also central to the proper functioning of our society? I bet that with adequate salaries, health and social services workers would stay more in public services.
During a recent media outing, you said that health care workers must be reasonable and consider Quebecers’ ability to pay. It is impossible not to ask yourself whether you have thought about the financial capabilities of the population and whether you consider yourself to have been reasonable when you gave yourself a 30% salary increase. I doubt.
The salary offer made to health workers is scandalous and inadequate in a context where these professions are essential and critical for the physical and psychosocial health of the population. This offer reveals that you devalue these professions.
Recognizing the skills of health care workers and their contribution to Quebec society is being reasonable, Mr. Legault.
Do you want the State to be an employer of choice that retains its workers? Pay us what we do. Do you want to overcome the health workforce shortage? Pay us properly.