This text is part of the special Syndicalism booklet
The Union of Professionals and Professionals of the Government of Quebec (SPGQ) is alarmed by the problems of attracting and retaining professionals in the Quebec public service due to lagging working conditions and salaries.
In the space of a few weeks, several dozen employees of Revenu Québec have left their jobs to go to work at the Canada Revenue Agency, according to the Syndicat de professionals et professionels du gouvernement du Québec (SPGQ). “It’s a massacre at Revenu Québec,” exclaims Line Lamarre, president of the union.
According to her, this wave of departures occurred when employees saw jobs posted at the Canada Revenue Agency. “I think the federal government understood something that the provincial government didn’t,” she says. To go and do the same job at the Agency, that means 15,000 to 20,000 dollars more [par année], with guaranteed telework. »
In the same way, dozens of computer professionals would have left the ranks of Loto-Québec during the pandemic, before the state corporation offered salary bonuses to keep its employees, continues the union president.
While the province is facing a labor shortage, the Quebec public service sector is particularly affected due to problems with attracting and retaining staff, according to the SPGQ. The latter represents nearly 30,700 specialists working mainly in the public service, at Revenu Québec, in the fields of health and education, as well as in Crown corporations.
“In the public service, you are excessively subordinated, you are not paid, you are not given freedom or choice, and after that you wonder why we have a problem with attraction and retention! indignant Line Lamarre. It is certain that at some point, our people no longer recognize themselves in this, they become apathetic. With the labor shortage, they understand that there are plenty of people who would like to have their expertise, who treat them like adults, professionals, and who are ready to pay them. »
Without adjustment, the situation could be fraught with consequences, fears Mme Lamarre. “Those who will not decide to go elsewhere will perhaps be those who are the least efficient, perhaps we will end up with a somewhat deskilled workforce”, warns the union representative.
She gives the example of child care services and schools in the province, forced to hire unqualified employees to meet their needs. To rectify this situation, the President believes that it is absolutely necessary to adjust the salaries and working conditions of public service employees.
Staggered conditions
“Unfortunately, in the state [québécois], we have made technicians out of professionals,” believes Line Lamarre, who denounces the paternalistic attitude often observed in the workplace. “I impose a schedule on you, I want to see you in the office, sitting in your chair, I think you are doing your job, I give you tasks that are part of a larger mandate on which you do not you don’t really have control. By deprofessionalizing people, we infantilize them, downright! “The pandemic and the arrival of teleworking have, however, begun to change the situation, she rejoices.
The SPGQ also observes that workers in the Quebec state are getting poorer. In a press release published last November, the union observes that overall compensation in the Quebec administration shows a delay of 9.4% compared to that of other Quebec employees, and 27.5% compared to those of the administrations. municipal and federal, as well as that of public enterprises.
“If you are a librarian at Hydro-Québec, you earn more than a librarian in the public service”, illustrates Mme Lamarre. “Do we pay because it brings in money or for the competence of the person? she asks herself.
“Jobs in categories such as education, culture, health, public services are highly feminine, and that’s when you realize that these are the sectors of activity that are under- paid,” observes the union president.
“The government has an obligation to promote the work of state workers, who carry a model of society, she pleads. Telework, professional autonomy and salaries that guide society, that is, how we pay for knowledge. I think that the Treasury Board secretariat must offer working conditions that are at the forefront of society. »