Day 2 of Quebec nurses strike
Posted November 9, 2023 2:44 pm.
Quebec nurses and public healthcare workers are on day two of a two-day strike that started Wednesday.
This is the Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la Santé’s (FIQ) first strike in almost 25 years as contract talks have stalled with the Quebec government.
The union rejected the government’s Oct. 29 offer of a salary increase of 10.3 per cent over five years, a one-time payment of $1,000 to each worker in the first year of the contract, and more money for shift workers like nurses, who work nights and weekends.
The FIQ represents 80,000 nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists, and clinical perfusionists in Quebec.
Essential services are being maintained during the 48-hour strike, but many non-urgent surgeries have been postponed.
No counteroffer has been submitted to the government by the unions so far.
Nurses say it’s not just about salary increases, but they’re also fighting for better working conditions and better patient-to-nurse ratios.
If an agreement isn’t reached soon, Quebec health workers have announced two more strike days, Nov. 23 and 24.
