FIQ negotiated ‘good deal’ despite ‘heartbreaking choices’: union head

Despite the “heartbreaking choices” that had to be made, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ) negotiated “a good agreement” in principle, according to the union’s president.

In an interview with La Presse Canadienne on Wednesday, Julie Bouchard defended the agreement in principle, as some members took to social media to express their dissatisfaction.

The 80,000 members of the FIQ will be called to vote on April 10-12.

Bouchard pointed to several gains, including the nurse-to-patient ratios – a request from the FIQ “for 10 years.”

She also argued the union “succeeded in getting the government to back down” on compulsory travel for nurses. “Someone can do it voluntarily, but the employer has no right to impose it.”

She also spoke to mandatory overtime, which the FIQ has been fighting for years.

“We never had any legal leverage, in the collective agreement, to allow us to make managers accountable,” explained Bouchard.

“This time, there is this definition which says that under no other pretext than for an urgent or exceptional measure, managers cannot keep a health-care professional on mandatory overtime. It may seem trivial to many people, but for us, it is very important leverage.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews