The situation at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital, in the east of Montreal, “is not sustainable”, declared the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé. Nine members of the nursing staff who work there have denounced The Press the “scheming” to impose “compulsory overtime” and forced 16-hour shifts.
“When I read the article this morning, I cannot say that it is a situation that I enjoy. I have a lot, a lot of empathy,” said Minister Dubé in a press scrum.
The Press reported Wednesday that managers at the Maisonneuve-Rosemont hospital are using “schemes” to impose “compulsory overtime” (TSO). The testimonies collected by The Press report threats of punishment, intimidation and “emotional manipulation” to force caregivers to stay put.
Minister Dubé regrets that there is no local management of schedules in Maisonneuve-Rosemont. “Why have places succeeded between the local unions and the managers in agreeing so that there is no TSO? Why can’t we do that at Maisonneuve-Rosemont? “, did he declare.
“The situation at Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital is not sustainable,” he added. However, it did not open the door to sanctions for the managers concerned.
For several months, Minister Dubé has been insisting that he wants to see the TSO disappear “as quickly as possible” and that this is an “exceptional measure”. He asks network managers “to find interim solutions” to avoid it.
An invitation that goes wrong
In his brief statement on Wednesday, Minister Dubé took the opportunity to invite health professionals from Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital to come to a forum organized by the Minister responsible for Government Administration, Sonia LeBel, as part of the next negotiation of public sector employees.
The invitation did not go down well with the union of health care professionals from the east of the island of Montreal. “We really abuse these women. It shocks me to hear the minister invite nurses to come to a forum. The problem is that we force them to come to work, we don’t need to go to a forum to find out,” denounced the president of the union, Denis Cloutier.
We are witnessing professionals whose words are freed, who are no longer able to support the pace of work imposed on them and [Christian Dubé] try to play politics with it.
Denis Cloutier, president of the union of healthcare professionals in the east of the island of Montreal
intolerable situations
For Liberal MNA André Fortin, official opposition health critic, “situations like this cannot be tolerated”. “It makes nurses rightly wonder about their future. We are a long way from the employer of choice that the health network should be,” he says.
The Liberal MP regrets that there are no sanctions against managers or a ban on the TSO. “So it’s quite possible that there are no changes at Maisonneuve-Rosemont,” he said.
With Fanny Lévesque, The Press