The President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, responded to criticism from the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) and requested flexibility on the issue of mobility, in a letter published Tuesday in The Press1.
“Is the FIQ ready to work on greater mobility of nurses in the network for the benefit of Quebecers?” asks the minister in her letter of approximately 400 words. “If that is the case, it is at the negotiating table and through experts that we will find a way to achieve this.”
Engaged in a long standoff with nurses for over 500 days, Minister LeBel saw her most recent offer harshly criticized and then rejected by the FIQ last week.
The FIQ, which represents 80,000 nurses, had notably described it as a “significant step backwards,” arguing that it would allow the employer to move a nurse 200 kilometers from her home base, whereas the maximum distance was set at 25 or 35 kilometers in the previously rejected agreement.
The union had also revealed the confidential content of the government’s latest offer on its social networks last week – a rare gesture – in addition to asking its members to strike overtime, starting September 19.
Sonia LeBel writes that she wants to “be unequivocal with regard to” what Quebec wants, namely “respect for the training and skills of nurses [soit] always a prerequisite” and that “no movement is [soit] imposed outside the position” that an employee occupies.
Mobility
In his letter, Mr.me LeBel seems to want to reassure his interlocutors, recognizing – and saying he wants to “calm” – the FIQ’s concerns regarding the “government’s intentions,” particularly on the issue of mobility.
She does not, however, throw in the towel on this point. “We cannot give up on the mobility of healthcare personnel, because it is vital in order to improve access to healthcare for the population,” she writes.
This mobility, which already exists in certain local FIQ conventions, makes it possible to deploy initiatives, such as flying teams that lend a hand in the region, and to reduce compulsory overtime as much as possible.
Sonia LeBel, President of the Treasury Board
“We simply want to apply this principle across all of Quebec,” said the minister, who recalled that the FIQ had “agreed to contribute to this objective in the agreement in principle that it recommended to its members,” but that they had rejected it a few months ago.
Read Sonia LeBel’s letter