The Administrative Labor Tribunal (TAT) issued an emergency order on Friday night forcing the return to work of a group of nurses in Nord-du-Québec, who had started a spontaneous work stoppage in protest. against their working conditions.
On Wednesday afternoon, around 2 p.m., employees affiliated with the Northern Union of Hudson’s Bay Nurses (FIQ) had contacted their employer by e-mail to denounce “a situation that has persisted for two years, in particular the lack of personnel, its impact and the inaction of nursing management”.
In this missive, the union members warned that failing to respond quickly and adequately to their ultimatum before 5:00 p.m. the same day, “additional mobilization measures” would be undertaken.
In response, the Inuulitsivik Health and Social Services Center (CSSS), which serves seven communities in the Far North, had proposed to hold a meeting on Thursday at lunchtime to try to resolve the impasse.
However, the union members had deemed this proposal unsatisfactory and had declined the outstretched hand of the employer, reiterating their intention to take action on Thursday at 5 p.m.
However, a meeting took place on Thursday in the middle of the afternoon. The director of nursing, the director of human resources and the coordinator of the CSSS dispensaries took part, as well as representatives of the seven communities represented by the bargaining unit, accompanied by members of their union executive.
During this meeting, employees indicated their intention to no longer take on-call calls or work overtime. A list of demands to improve the working conditions of union members was subsequently given to the employer by the president of the union.
Still, at 5 p.m. Thursday, three employees handed their guard phones to a member of management and refused to perform their jobs. The employer then tried to contact other union members who had to be on duty between 5:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m.; no one answered his call.
Consequently, the CISSS verbally asked the TAT to intervene around 5 p.m. on Thursday, then reiterated its request in writing around 9:30 p.m.
At the end of the hearing, Judge Irène Zaikoff ordered the immediate return to work of the staff members, reminding them that “the right to strike is not acquired” and that their reasons for “stopping their work usual are not relevant for the purposes of the dispute”.
The administrative judge also mentioned, in her decision of which The Canadian Press obtained a copy, that this strike “harms or is likely to harm a service to which the population is entitled” in a context where a break in service could have unfortunate consequences.
She recalled that “the organization of health services and social services in the Far North presents particularities due to distances and travel possibilities”. “Even in cases where doctors have replaced salaried people who have to take on-call calls, there have been periods without service,” recalled the TAT.
This dispatch was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta Exchange and The Canadian Press for the news.