(Notre-Dame-Du-Portage) Prime Minister François Legault opens the door to bonuses or differentiated remuneration for ambulance technicians still without a contract of employment.
He met Friday morning on the sidelines of an announcement at Notre-Dame-du-Portage with a small group of demonstrators from the Fédération du personnel préhospitalier du Québec (FPHQ).
Their collective agreement has expired since March 2020, while the other public sector employees are already negotiating the collective agreement which will run from 2023 to 2026-2027.
This union represents 30% of paramedical technicians in the sector and they are grouped into fraternities, especially in the regions.
In particular, they are calling for the end of shift schedules, a common schedule system in the region that many workers denounce.
At a press conference, Mr. Legault indicated that he was sensitive to their demands, but that he had to respect a certain “fairness” with the 70% of union members in the sector who signed a collective agreement.
“In some regions, the reality is different from the rest of Quebec and we should perhaps look for bonuses or compensation that is different,” said Mr. Legault regarding what he had been told during his meeting. .
“So we are going to look at whether the realities are indeed different and deserve a remuneration that is different. »
He made a commitment to them to discuss it with his Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, and his colleague President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, responsible for the negotiations.
“There is a question of fairness, we cannot give different salary increases according to the unions. »
The faction schedules are also a thorny issue in the regions and they have been denounced by the opposition, but according to Mr. Legault, the question was not addressed by the representatives of the FPHQ.
Under a shift schedule, a paramedic must somehow be on call and remain available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
According to Mr. Legault, the problem of schedules is “continuous work”, to use his words.
“It will never be perfect, we will not be able to have an ambulance on every street corner. »
According to the Parti Québécois, ambulance coverage is “totally deficient” in the Bas-Saint-Laurent and “precarious” in the regions of Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Estrie, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Nord -du-Québec, Côte-Nord or even Lanaudière, on the outskirts of the metropolitan area.
The FPHQ says it represents 1,800 paramedics.