‘Flying squad’ of health-care workers agreement extended to help regions in distress

An agreement has been reached to extend the deployment of the ‘flying squad,’ made up of healthcare personnel who travel to regions facing workforce shortages, for one year.

Health Minister Christian Dubé launched the flying team project last spring in response to service disruptions that threatened to endanger the health of people in struggling regions.

Dubé hoped to recruit 500 employees; to date, there are 196, 54 per cent of whom work in the Côte-Nord region. The others are deployed in Abitibi-Témiscamingue and Outaouais, and most recently, Chaudière-Appalaches was added to the list of regions facing significant staff shortages.

The flying team includes nurses and orderlies. The agreement, which will be in effect until March 30, 2026, involves the Fédération de la santé et des services sociaux (FSSS-CSN), the Fédération des professionnels (FP-CSN), and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE-FTQ).

This initiative is an alternative to the reliance on private staffing agencies, which Dubé wants to gradually phase out. “The float team is a ‘plaster’ on the wooden leg,” explains Réjean Leclerc, President of the FSSS-CSN.

According to him, we must avoid finding ourselves “in the same situation where it cost taxpayers a lot of money, in terms of billions, and today the public sector is experiencing the repercussions of using independent private staffing agencies.” The float team is therefore a short-term solution, but “the ultimate solution,” he says, is to ensure staff retention in the region.

Protecting staff who already live in the region

Leclerc fears that the float team will replace positions that were eliminated as part of the cuts imposed by Santé Québec to achieve a balanced budget.

To explain his thinking, the president of the FSSS-CSN describes a scenario he fears. “After eliminating a position, instead of opening it permanently, only a few hours would be available from time to time, which the float team would cover. That too represents a loss of services and care in the region because it would make the hours of care and services precarious, because they would only open a few hours that would be covered by the float team, and then after two, three weeks, or a month, the float team leaves,” explains Leclerc.

Adjustments were made in the extended agreement to improve access to overtime and better regulate the reimbursement of travel allowances. The parties involved were keen to strike a balance so as not to disadvantage employees who reside in regions that benefit from the float team.

“We also must not allow the person on the float team to overshadow the people who are in the region and who have had a modus operandi for several years,” Leclerc said. “We see it as a positive thing. It’s good news to continue this, and it’s good news that we’re continuing discussions to resolve the problems and stabilize this team so that there are no longer private agencies replacing the public float team.”

The three unions will continue discussions with the employer over the coming months with the aim of reaching a final agreement on the operation and working conditions of the float team employees. The agreement regarding the float team is expected to be included in the next collective agreements.

—

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews

The Canadian Press’s health content is funded through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. Editorial choices are the sole responsibility of The Canadian Press.