Unions decry arrival of Santé Québec: APTS to demonstrate Monday

The arrival of Santé Québec, the new agency responsible for coordinating the operations of the health network, is causing discontent among major union organizations. One of them will hold a demonstration Monday morning in Montreal.

The Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS) believes that the Legault government is “turning a deaf ear to the wishes of workers in the health and social services network.”

Its members in the Montreal region have therefore been invited to a demonstration that will be held Monday morning in front of the Montreal offices of the new agency, which officially began operations on Sunday.

For their part, the Fédération de la Santé du Québec (FSQ-CSQ) and the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ) have chosen to demonstrate their reluctance by launching an advertising campaign.

In their opinion, the arrival of Santé Québec will have little impact on public care, unlike the cutbacks and hiring freeze imposed by Quebec.

At the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), there is talk of “foretold chaos.” The union believes that the agency’s creation is accompanied by a “cloud of uncertainty” and “improvisation” in a context of budget cuts.

Santé Québec is now the sole employer of 330,000 workers in the health network. It will have to coordinate the operations of the Quebec health network, in addition to being responsible for attracting and retaining staff.

In an open letter published last weekend, Santé Québec President and CEO Geneviève Biron acknowledged that the transformation of the health network “will realistically take a few years.”

However, she assured that it is “possible to do better,” particularly by gaining mobility, eliminating tasks that are duplicated, and sharing tools and best practices even more effectively.

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews