Members of certain unions affiliated with the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) overwhelmingly rejected the proposed agreement in principle concluded with the Legault government. At the McGill University Health Center (MUHC), union members voted 89% against the agreement. This percentage rose to 80% at the Union of Healthcare Professionals of the East-de-l’Île-de-Montréal-FIQ.
According to the FIQ, 61% of all members rejected the agreement in principle negotiated with Quebec. The participation rate across Quebec was 77%.
At the Union of Nursing and Cardiorespiratory Care Professionals of the MUHC-FIQ, nearly 88% of some 4,000 members voted. The local union organization did not recommend the agreement to its members. Its president, Jennie Rhee, expressed her dissent during the general council bringing together the delegates. “We were not able to swallow what had been presented,” she said.
The crux of “mobility”
Jennie Rhee indicates that her members are opposed to the “mobility” requested by Quebec. “It’s non-negotiable,” she said.
The salary does not meet expectations, according to her. She explains that her union members could not digest losing a “recognition bonus” of 3.5% granted under the last collective agreement. “17.4% minus 3.5%, that gives us less than the Common Front,” she denounces.
At the Union of Healthcare Professionals of the East-de-l’Île-de-Montréal-FIQ, 76% of the 4,650 members participated in the vote. According to its president, Denis Cloutier, the 80% rejection is explained in particular by the members’ fear of being moved against their will to units that they did not choose and where they are not used to to work.
The agreement in principle would have allowed health establishments to create “activity centers” bringing together units or facilities on their territory. The employer could thus have moved healthcare professionals from one location to another, with a maximum distance of 25 km between the employee’s home port and the transfer site (35 km in the region). The president of the FIQ, Julie Bouchard, described this “compromise” as “heartbreaking”. However, she assured that training would be offered to displaced members.
Despite everything, many members of the Union of Healthcare Professionals of the Eastern Island of Montreal feared reliving the experience of their sisters in Mauricie and Center-du-Québec, according to Denis Cloutier . There, the merger of activity centers meant that vaccination nurses or those working in schools found themselves practicing in CHSLDs. According to the local union, at least 200 nurses have left their jobs because of these mergers.
The distance of 25 km from the home port also bothers union members, according to Denis Cloutier. “We have to stop thinking about Quebec as if everyone had a car and a parking space at their destination,” he said. 25 km is literally from one end of the island to the other. » He argues that healthcare professionals only travel by public transport.
The Union of Healthcare Professionals of the East Island of Montreal also expressed its dissent during the general council. Did he recommend its acceptance to the members? “No, we can’t say that,” replies Denis Cloutier. We would not have been consistent with our dissent. But the fact remains that the agreement was presented as a whole with the tools provided by the FIQ. »
Remember that the proposed agreement in principle concluded between the FIQ and the Quebec government was not unanimous among the delegates. According to the union, 53% of them voted in favor of the proposal.
Further details will follow.