(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. On the ground, discontent rises, they warn.
Posted at 5:22 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 who are waiting to have money owed to them. It 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, 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 from all over the health and social services network (RSSS) are waiting for the payment of their salary retroactivity 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 same computer problems affect the other job titles in the RSSS. The SQEES-FTQ and the FSSS-CSN renewed their employment contract with the government last fall. Like the FIQ, the government is currently out of time to pay the amounts provided for 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 three unions have all said that the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) is not in a position to confirm to them when the situation will be restored. Delays are listed throughout the network, but may vary from location to location.
For certain members of the SQEES-FTQ and FSSS-CSN, there are also regulations under the Pay Equity Act, which include retroactivity dating back to 2015 and 2010. These amounts should have been paid no later than 1er last December, say the unions.
The MSSS confirmed Thursday that the “institutions of the RSSS are actively working to update all the measures as soon as possible”. The office of the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, had not yet reacted Thursday at the end of the day.
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 and the adoption of a law on the implementation of safe ratios would really make it possible to make a difference on the work overload.
Joël Arseneau, parliamentary leader, Parti Québécois