The union, which represents 2,200 employees of the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, claims that it had warned managers that the new SAAQclic service was not ready, that the training had been insufficient and that they were going to “enter the wall” if they didn’t practice the system further.
“It was something that could be planned, something that was predictable, something that our members had denounced to their managers, to their directors, telling them ‘we’re not ready then you’re going to hit the wall ”. And that’s what’s happening today unfortunately, ”said Christian Daigle, general president of the SFPQ, in an interview on Monday.
The Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec (SFPQ), a large union independent of the centrals, represents in particular 2,200 employees of the SAAQ
“And who pays for that?” They are the citizens of Quebec. And who pays extra for that? These are the members that I represent, because they are the ones who receive the citizens and who are unfortunately peppered by these people,” thunders Mr. Daigle.
He relates that his members at the SAAQ said that the training had been insufficient, that the system was not well established, that it was not necessary to go so quickly.
Computer problems for all
Christian Daigle also notes that the “shortcomings” of the computer system, for example, affect citizens who are online as much as employees behind the counter.
And its members are also exasperated, he reports.
“There are places where the police had to show up to calm the ardor of the citizens. In other places, we realize that there are people who take their break to go and cry in the staff room, they are so at their wit’s end, because they want to help, they want to do it quickly, they want to make sure they give the best possible service. And they don’t have the tools sometimes and it’s the computer that crashes and doesn’t allow them to do what they should be doing,” summarizes Mr. Daigle.
As for the announced addition of 150 employees to meet demand, Mr. Daigle specifies that this will be done gradually. And he reminds that these employees will also have to receive training.
He also points out that at the SAAQ, “we were already short of staff in our various offices”. It is not only in the health and education sectors where there is a shortage of personnel, he says.