(Quebec) The Legault government will have a lot to do if it wants to convince workers from employment agencies to return to the public health network. A survey of more than 2,000 private healthcare employees reveals little interest in returning to the public sector before they retire.
The largest group of placement agencies sheds new light on the professional intentions of their employees at the very moment when Minister Christian Dubé is due to table a bill on Wednesday to limit the use of agencies in the public sector.
Tuesday, the Minister of Health argued that he wants to operate “a change of culture” and that better use of public network resources is “a key element” of his health plan.
Quebec does not hide that it aspires to wean the health network from private agencies, the use of which continues to increase. On Tuesday, the FTQ revealed that the Quebec state had spent nearly $3 billion from 2016 to 2022 to hire independent workers.
The Private Companies of Caregivers of Quebec (EPPSQ) group surveyed the employees of its members from February 7 to 13 to give them the floor in the context where the ambient discourse on the future of the agencies “has no nuance” , deplores the president, Patrice Lapointe.
PHOTO MARCO CAMPANOZZI, THE PRESS
The president of the group of private healthcare personnel companies in Quebec, Patrice Lapointe
“These people are in a position where we tell them that we are going to abolish their current employer […] and that everyone is going to come back with a good heart to a health network that they knew and left for all sorts of reasons that are as varied as they are valid,” he laments.
The survey reveals that for 8 out of 10 health care workers (81%), it is “unlikely” to return to the public by retirement. This rate reaches 84% for nurses and even 90% for nursing assistants, according to the survey.
The exercise also shows that 70% of the employees surveyed “would probably have reoriented their career in another field instead of staying in the public network” if the private labor agencies “did not exist”. This rate climbs to 78% among licensed practical nurses.
Better working conditions
Unsurprisingly, health workers who deserted the public network were motivated by better working conditions in the private sector. Making the public sector “an employer of choice” is Minister Christian Dubé’s main concern.
Of agency employees surveyed, 72% said they left the public to “decide the number of hours” worked per week, to have “better control” of their schedule (70%), for a better salary (71 %) and for a better work-family balance (68%).
“Although many people are still looking for job security, professional autonomy and freedom are values that have taken on a great deal of importance and as long as we do not review the organization of work in the network, we will be faced with the same challenge,” underlines Mr. Lapointe, whose association says it is in favor of better supervision of their industry.
Fact of note: half (48%) of the staff surveyed said they had not worked any “compulsory overtime” (TSO) in the last year.
The Legault government is seeking to legislate to tighten the screws on agencies and precisely put a stop to the exodus of workers.
On Tuesday, Mr. Dubé let it be known that his bill would notably put an end to the use “of people from outside [pour combler] favorable hours. A directive to this effect is already in force, but would not always be applied across the network. “There will be even more important reasons to follow the new policies,” said Minister Dubé.
At the Blue Room, he also recalled the importance of finding the right “balance” to reduce the use of agencies without putting pressure on the staff in place. Mr. Dubé has also already specified in the past that targets could be set according to the territory, due to the strong dependence of certain regions such as Abitibi-Témiscamingue or the North Shore.
The task will not be small. Quebec launched a call for tenders last December – which has since been suspended – for 8 million hours of work to be carried out by independent workers in all health establishments in the province.
The issue has a broad consensus in the National Assembly. Québec solidaire and the Parti Québécois argued on Tuesday that the Legault government has already “lost enough time” before tackling the situation decried for several years. They demand that the network give itself a clear timetable for completely weaning itself off the agencies.
Only the Liberal Party of Quebec was more nuanced on Tuesday, claiming to want to “reflect” to determine “what is the place of agencies” in the public health network.