We are talking about a strike in the health network

PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS. The Alliance of Professional and Technical Staff in Health and Social Services (APTS) is warning the Legault government. Meeting in general council, the APTS claims to have in hand a proposed 10-day strike mandate to submit to its 60,000 members.

The Alliance believes that the negotiation process that began 16 months ago and the mediation process launched last January is stagnant. If nothing changes, the Alliance could well make it the question of the ballot box and obtain a strike mandate as early as mid-May. The APTS would consult the members of the CIUSS de l’Estrie – CHUS from mid-April.

“The Legault government still refuses to study some of the union’s proposals for improving working conditions. We have been trying to negotiate with the Legault government for 16 months. Worse, the proposals mentioned by the Treasury Board constitute major setbacks, ”said Danny Roulx, APTS national respondent for the Estrie region.

The APTS cites COVID and stair bonuses of $ 100 per week, overtime and amounts allocated to training.

18 more days

There are still 18 days left for the mediation process. But, we feel that the elastic band is about to give way and the mediation process gets bogged down. “We negotiated in good faith. We have prioritized our requests. We worked in a pandemic context where we suspended the rights included in our employment contract. We have been holding the network at arm’s length for years, reform after reform, to the detriment of our physical and mental health. How does the government thank us during the pandemic? By refusing to grant us COVID bonuses in hospitals, by giving juicy contracts to the private sector and by reducing our working conditions. It’s contemptuous and insulting, ”adds Mr. Roulx, from the APTS Estrie.

The Legault government would seek in particular to reduce the normal working day to 12 hours according to the APTS. “Such a proposal is damaging to health and would worsen the state of exhaustion of its members who have struggled for nearly a year. The labor shortage is generalized throughout the CIUSSS de l’Estrie – CHUS, waiting lists are growing, work overload affects all job titles and the professional autonomy of our staff. members are constantly being flouted. Our members care about the network, want to improve services, and reduce waiting lists. It goes through the attraction and retention of personnel “, which desert the network in the face of such working conditions”, explains Danny Roulx. “What we want is to save the network and put it back on its feet.”

The APTS brings together thousands of university and college graduates grouped around 76 trades in the health and social services network. 86% of APTS members are women who also work in laboratories and medical imaging, rehabilitation, nutrition, psychosocial services, prevention and clinical support for example. Among them, technicians in biomechanical engineering, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and social workers. “Most of our members provide direct services to the population. If a strike is called, Premier Legault will have only himself to blame, ”concluded the spokesperson for the APTS Estrie.

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