(Quebec) Nurses are far from the only health care workers affected by numerous delays in retroactive salary adjustments and payment of “COVID bonuses”. “Thousands” of dollars are due to all network staff, the unions deplore. “All amounts will be paid to the last dollar,” promises Quebec.
Updated yesterday at 6:00 p.m.
“It affects beneficiary attendants, administrative staff, people in auxiliary services too,” says the president of the Quebec Union of Service Employees (SQEES-FTQ), Sylvie Nelson. “It makes no sense that our members haven’t yet seen the color of this money that the government owes them. I’m telling you, the limbs are sickened, they’re tired. »
The story is the same on the side of the Federation of Health and Social Services (FSSS-CSN), which represents 110,000 public sector employees.
“There are thousands of people waiting for amounts owed to them. This is not at all helpful, especially in the context where we are faced with significant difficulties in attracting and retaining staff, ”says the vice-president responsible for the public sector, Josée Marcotte. “The members are quite frustrated,” she adds. According to Mme Marcotte and M.me Nelson, the situation would have led workers to leave the network.
The Press reported Thursday that nurses across the health and social services network (RSSS) were awaiting payment of the retroactive salary adjustments provided for in their new employment contract. The software used for the payroll system is unable to make the adjustments.
The same goes for several “COVID bonuses” and other terms provided for in their new collective agreement. The amounts owed can easily reach several “thousands” of dollars per nurse, according to the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), which has 76,000 members.
The “frustration” heard, assures Dubé
The Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, indicated on Twitter that he understood the “frustration” of caregivers and that the government’s commitments would be respected. He assures that “all sums will be paid to the last dollar”.
The same computer problems affect the other job titles in the RSSS. The SQEES-FTQ and the FSSS-CSN renewed their employment contracts with the government last fall. As in the case of the FIQ, the government is currently late in paying the amounts stipulated in the employment contracts.
“This is not the first collective agreement that we have signed. It is common for there to be a reasonable period of time to pay the retroactive sums, but there, it is really total chaos”, illustrates M.me Nelson.
The unions said that the Ministry of Health and Social Services was unable to confirm with certainty when the situation would be restored in the network. Some adjustments could be made starting in February and March. Delays are listed throughout the network, but may vary from location to location.
For certain members of the SQEES-FTQ and the FSSS-CSN, there are also regulations under the Pay Equity Act concerning retroactivity dating back to 2015 and 2010. These sums should have been paid no later than 1er last December, say the unions.
The Ministry confirmed Thursday that the “institutions of the RSSS are actively working to update all the measures as soon as possible”.
what they said
It only digs and widens the chasm of trust between the government and its employees. […] When you have people who are important and who work for you, the least you can do is give them their due. The last thing caregivers needed was a Quebec version of the Phoenix payroll system.
Vincent Marissal, health spokesperson, Québec solidaire
It sends a very bad message. Do we really treat our guardian angels well? Beyond the fine words and promises, I think there is a breach of trust in the moral contract between the government and health professionals. The government must absolutely fulfill its part of the contract.
Monsef Derraji, Health Critic, Quebec Liberal Party
The mini-revolution promised by the CAQ to caregivers in Quebec is a failure. The money is not enough and the media outlets without concrete results break the confidence of the workers. The abolition of the TSO [heures supplémentaires obligatoires] and the adoption of a law on the implementation of safe ratios would really make a difference on the work overload.
Joël Arseneau, parliamentary leader, Parti Québécois