Nurses’ mandatory OT in Laval: Court of appeal rejects Santé Québec’s request

Nurses, who have been protesting for years against mandatory overtime (MOT), have just seen the Court of Appeal rule in their favour, rejecting a request from the CISSS de Laval related to this practice. 

Initially, it was the Union of Nurses, Respiratory Therapists and Nursing Assistants of Laval, affiliated with the CSQ, which filed a grievance against the use of mandatory overtime by the employer, the Integrated Health and Social Services Centre (CISSS) of Laval — now represented by Santé Québec — which it deemed abusive. 

The union won its grievance. The arbitrator ruled that the CISSS de Laval had exercised its management rights abusively and contrary to the collective agreement by systematically resorting to mandatory overtime. He also ruled that MOT is imposed to compensate for the labour shortage, due to recruitment and retention problems. 

The employer had first challenged this decision before the Superior Court, but the judge concluded that the arbitrator’s decision was reasonable and well-founded. 

The CISSS de Laval then appealed to the Court of Appeal to challenge this decision once again, who now ruled that “the arbitral decision has the attributes of a reasonable decision. It is amply reasoned, intelligible, and the line of reasoning followed by the arbitrator to reach the conclusion does not suffer from any gaps that would justify intervention.” 

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews