Two employees of the Philippe-Pinel Institute were taken to hospital after two violent attacks in three hours on Thursday.
The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) made the announcement in a press release. The circumstances of the assaults which left “several injured” were not disclosed by the union.
CUPE has been denouncing the shortcomings in staff safety for several months.
“Not later than [jeudi] morning, the employer reproached us for not depicting the workplace positively during union meetings with new recruits, said the president of CUPE 2960, Marie-Ève Desormeaux. However, we are only describing the reality to them: the staff lacks training, experienced employees leave with the loss of expertise that this causes.
Many workers suffer from post-traumatic stress. The union is sorry for the lack of attention it receives from the new management of the Institute.
CUPE is concerned about the situation as construction holidays approach. The Institute currently has 840 unionized employees, but only 689 will remain due to sick leave and other causes of absenteeism, such as vacation and parental leave.
CUPE recalled that complaints to the Commission for Standards, Equity, Health and Safety at Work (CNESST) have increased by 800% since 2022.