In the midst of a conflict with the government, dozens of workers from the youth protection department (DPJ) filed a complaint on Thursday with the Administrative Labor Court against their own union, the APTS, we learned. The Press. They feel “abandoned and wronged” and have been demanding reimbursement of their union dues since the start of negotiations.
What there is to know
- DPJ workers filed a complaint with the Administrative Labor Court against their own union, the APTS.
- They feel “abandoned” by their union and are asking for improved offers for youth protection workers.
- The APTS says it has sent “substantial requests” concerning various job titles which are found at the DPJ.
“We feel abandoned by our union. There is no specific request related to the DPJ at the sectoral tables. For us, this is nonsense,” said The Press Isabelle C. Morin, DPJ worker at the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est and one of the instigators of the complaint.
Youth protection workers denounce the exodus of their colleagues to schools and CLSCs and deplore that their union is not doing enough to retain them.
They tell us that in youth protection we have a bonus of 7%, but it is too little, because people leave.
Isabelle C. Morin, DPJ worker at the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est
The exodus of workers to other environments leads to a loss of expertise, maintains Isabelle C. Morin. “Our workers with certain expertise leave for similar jobs, but with less risk management and a very different mandate,” she explains.
“Abandoned and wronged”
The complaint was filed Thursday with the Administrative Labor Court by around twenty stakeholders and targets the Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services (APTS). It is also supported by more than 200 youth protection workers.
The complainants say they felt “abandoned and wronged” by their union and implore the APTS to ask the government for improved offers for youth protection workers.
The union tells us that it is working on equal pay for all; What we are asking for is fairness in line with our real mandate.
Isabelle C. Morin, DPJ worker at the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est
The speakers also want the creation of a separate union for youth protection in order to represent their specificity and put forward their own demands. “We are not saying that our work is more noble than that of our colleagues in schools, it is complementary work. But we must recognize that our mandate is different,” says Isabelle C. Morin.
Finally, the signatories have been demanding reimbursement of their union dues since the start of negotiations between the union and the government.
Earlier this week, The duty reported that around ten psychologists from the public network had filed a complaint against the APTS and the CSN with the Administrative Labor Tribunal. One of them affirmed that no demands specific to the remuneration of psychologists were found in the list of union demands for the renewal of the collective agreement.
“Supported requests”
Called to react, the APTS says it has transmitted “substantial requests” concerning various job titles found at the DPJ, in particular the specific bonuses obtained during the latest negotiations.
“Quite recently, the minister [Lionel] Carmant suggested that he wanted a significant salary increase for DPJ employees. If a serious response lands on the table, our members can be sure that we will study it quickly and in their best interest,” declared Sébastien Pitre, treasurer and head of the protection file. of youth at the APTS.
PHOTO PATRICE LAROCHE, LE SOLEIL ARCHIVES
The treasurer and responsible for the youth protection file at the APTS, Sébastien Pitre
Without commenting specifically on the request from the DPJ speakers, the CISSS de l’Outaouais said it supported the government’s direction which is proposing differentiated offers aimed at salary increases for their region. “However, we let the parties agree on these offers at the national negotiation tables,” they clarified. For its part, the CISSS de la Montérégie-Est did not want to comment. The majority of signatories to the complaint work in Montérégie and Outaouais.
A petition entitled “Salary recognition for workers working in youth protection”, launched on October 25 by a team from the DPJ of Montreal, has collected more than 2,600 signatures across Quebec.