Many civil servants who work at the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) are plunged into uncertainty about their future at the future Santé Québec agency, which will have the mission of managing the operations of Quebec’s public health network. Nearly a third of professionals at the MSSS are looking for a new job, according to a survey carried out by their union among around 1,000 members.
“We are arriving at the creation of Santé Québec and the people who would be transferred at the moment are not informed,” said the president of the Union of Professionals of the Government of Quebec (SPGQ), Guillaume Bouvrette. This creates insecurity — we can understand that — and insecurity in the current context of labor shortage in Quebec is not desirable. »
According to the union’s survey, less than 5% of professionals say they will stay at Santé Québec if they are transferred. A “large majority” plans to go to work elsewhere in the public service, in the event of a “forced transfer”, indicates the survey.
These civil servants fear becoming poorer by moving to Santé Québec, explains Guillaume Bouvrette. “For now, the law [créant Santé Québec] integrates them into the collective agreement of the health network, which is disadvantageous for them, he specifies. The ministry’s professional staff earn 7% to 14% more than comparable administrative staff in the network. » According to him, the affected employees would have “no immediate salary loss” during the transfer. “But they would find themselves “off the scale” and would therefore only have half of the salary increases each year until the scale catches up with them,” he maintains.
In its brief presented to the Health and Social Services Commission as part of the consultations for Bill 15, the SPGQ asked Quebec to create a “separate accreditation” for the professional administrative staff of Santé Québec in order to “correct salary gaps” between public administration and that of the health and social services network. The law adopted under gag order in December instead provides for a merger of union accreditations and six health employment categories.
“We told the minister that there would be a wall,” says Guillaume Bouvrette. We announced it and proposed solutions. And there we arrive at the wall. We think there is still time to find solutions, but it is one minute to midnight. » According to the union’s survey, 63% of SPGQ members say they are ready to work at Santé Québec “if they keep their collective agreement and their current working conditions.”
Quebec plans to appoint the CEO of Santé Québec in the spring. The call for applications closes on 1er March.