Thousands of members of the Fédération interprofessional de la santé du Québec (FIQ) stormed Grande Allée on Saturday to remind the Quebec government that negotiations with healthcare professionals are still not over.
The vast majority of public sector nurses still do not have an agreement with the government regarding the renewal of collective agreements.
In the midst of a negotiation blitz, more than 3,000 members and activists gathered in front of the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec late in the morning. The latter then followed suit to the National Assembly under trumpets and shouts.
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From the outset, the president of the FIQ, Julie Bouchard, described this demonstration as an “important lever” as it occurs in a pivotal period of negotiations with Quebec.
“There are still little things to tie up, but these little things are ultra-important to us […] It’s a big negotiation that has already been going on for 16 months now, we want to have an agreement in principle,” she said during a press scrum preceding the demonstration.
Julie Bouchard, president of the FIQ in front of ASNAT during the FIQ demonstration.
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Long negotiations
A few weeks ago, the members of the Common Front, which is made up of the CSN, the CSQ, the APTS and the FTQ, approved the agreement in principle reached with the Legault government at the end of December by 74.8% .
Mme Bouchard explains, however, that it was preferable for the FIQ to do things a little more quietly, since it was still missing elements that were too important to move forward.
“We want to ensure that when we have an agreement in principle, all healthcare professionals adhere to it to ensure that we do not have to come back later,” specifies after 16 months of negotiations the one representing more than 80,000 nurses, practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists.
Thousands of members wanted to send a message to the government.
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“At present, discussions are ongoing with the FIQ. Negotiations continue. We always have the same objective: to obtain flexibility in the organization of work to offer better care to the population,” commented the office of the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, in an official statement.
A future agreement?
If Julie Bouchard preferred to remain discreet about the current blitz of negotiations, she nevertheless clarified that she hopes to reach an agreement in the coming hours or days.
“If we can’t do it, it’s because we won’t have the essential element to allow us to provide quality care to the population,” says the president of the FIQ.
She also maintained that the implementation of professional/patient safety ratios will be a key element in reaching an agreement to ensure quality care and the safety of all.
“As we have already done with the Common Front, it is time to find a landing strip for this negotiation. Everything is on the table to reach an agreement quickly,” adds the Sonia LeBel firm.