FIQ union delegates vote in favour of deal with Quebec

After months of negotiations, delegates from a major nurses’ and healthcare professionals’ union, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec, known as the FIQ, have voted in favour of the agreement in principle struck with the government. 

On Tuesday, the FIQ announced they reached the deal, which includes several improvements for them, they say.

The deal includes the supervision of mandatory overtime, which should only be used in cases of emergency; funds dedicated to catching up on surgeries; the gradual elimination of the use of independent labour and the prioritization of healthcare professionals from the public health network in scheduling choices; a commitment from the government to the gradual implementation of ratios.

“It appears that the agreement won a very weak majority at the recent National Assembly of the FIQ and so, I’m wondering whether the details and the applications of those broad strokes are they really guaranteed in the language of the agreement,” said Natalie Stake-Doucet, nursing professor at Université de Montréal and member of the Quebec Nurses’ Association.

Alexandre Magdzinski, a board member at the Quebec Nurses’ Association says, he’s skeptical about the proposed changes.

“There is no concrete pathway to establish ratios, for example, there’s no concrete moves that they’re going to make in ending forced overtime,” said Magdzinski.

“I’m exhausted and frustrated that we’re repeating this, like we have the solutions, we’re repeating them over and over and over again,” he added.

The agreement in principle also includes training for healthcare professionals and maintenance of acquired skills during voluntary travel, agreed bonuses for critical periods during the holidays and summer and salary increases of 17.4 per cent.

“It seems like a lot, but Quebec has the lowest paid nurses by far in all of Canada. And so, for example, the second lowest paid wages for a nurse just beginning her career is about $5 an hour difference,” said Stake-Doucet.

Stake-Doucet says the core issue of Quebec’s healthcare system is the province not being able to retain nurses.

“This agreement has to focus on nurse retention. We are losing a lot of nurses because of the working conditions right now. Quebec has never had so many registered nurses, and yet we’re talking about a nursing shortage. So it’s not really a shortage of nurses. It’s a shortage of decent working conditions under which nurses are willing to work.”

The next step will be to present the agreement in principle to the 80,000 FIQ members. Following these presentations, members will be able to vote on the agreement with a vote held on April 10, 11 and 12.

“It is our members who will decide whether they accept the government’s offer or not,” said the union in a press release. “The FIQ’s democratic process is rigorous, and it is important for us to let democracy take its course. That said, we believe we have negotiated an offer that reflects and respects the specificities of our members’ daily lives,” said FIQ president, Julie Bouchard.

The nurses’ union was the one remaining public-sector union that needed to reach a tentative deal for a new collective agreement.

“It’s not set in stone yet and regardless what goes on with this collective agreement, there’s still going to be a lot that needs to be done to address all the issues in our healthcare system,” said Magdzinski.