The nurses of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) will overwhelmingly support the start of a strike, in a proportion of 95%.
This was announced by the national union on social networks on Wednesday evening, after two days of electronic voting. The FIQ was delighted that its approximately 80,000 members – nurses, but also respiratory therapists and perfusionists – “are sending a strong message to the government”. This strike will take place on November 8 and 9, the FIQ also announced.
In a press release, the president of the FIQ, Julie Bouchard, spoke of “a strong mandate to tell the government that the proposals we receive at the negotiating table are unacceptable.” “Our working conditions are already very difficult, what François Legault wants to do is degrade them even more by treating us like interchangeable pawns. He has no respect for our professional judgment or our personal lives. Establishment managers should prepare: the strike is coming,” she said.
Gone are the days when we could impose conditions on healthcare professionals that other workers, men, would refuse. We want to be paid our fair value, commensurate with our expertise.
Julie Bouchard, president of the FIQ
The decision to hold this vote was initially taken two weeks ago by a body of the union organization, which represents the vast majority of nurses, practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists in Quebec.
It was some 500 FIQ delegates who first adopted the proposal on the unlimited strike mandate by more than 99%.
Remember that the FIQ had recently reduced its demands in the hope of advancing its negotiation with Quebec, which has been going on for several months. The public sector collective agreements expired on March 31, but negotiations began before then.
The main point of dispute concerns the mobility and versatility requirements expected of nurses, who could be moved from health establishment, care unit or shift, without much notice, to fill gaps personnel, according to the FIQ’s interpretation of government offers.
Quebec, for its part, says it wants to review the organization of work to ensure better functioning and needs more flexibility. The FIQ is also calling for a law on safe nurse/patient ratios, in order to reduce the burden of tasks.
All this comes just a few hours after the common union front bringing together 420,000 workers in the public and parapublic sectors, of which the FIQ is not a member, announced that it will also be on strike on November 6. Prime Minister François Legault also promised to “improve” his offer on Sunday.
The common inter-union front brings together the CSQ, the APTS, the FTQ and the CSN. These unions had consulted their members union by union over a period of four weeks. Most common front unions also supported the strike in rates approaching 90%.
With The Canadian Press