2023-08-31 18:07:01
(Montreal) The mediator appointed to try to bring the FIQ and the Government of Quebec closer together concludes that he cannot issue a recommendation, as the parties are so far apart.
In the public sector negotiation system, the mediation phase is a sort of obligatory passage before the union party obtains the right to strike.
This is therefore a decisive step for the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ), which represents 80,000 nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists.
The large union organization of nurses makes no secret of it: “This is one more step towards exercising the right to strike. One thing remains certain: the fall will be warm, ”she wrote in a message to her members.
In his report, a copy of which was obtained by The Canadian Press, the mediator concludes that he “did have certain tools that might have contributed to the progress of the case, but, given the positions of the parties, it would have been premature to submit to them a recommendation “.
It is not up to the mediator to rule on the merits of union demands and the employer’s offer. He must try to bring the parties together and, if possible, to get them to agree. He was appointed on June 8.
In this case, his report does not include a recommendation, the parties are so far apart.
The FIQ had filed its demands in Quebec City on November 7, 2022. The two parties had had 35 negotiation meetings before the first mediation meeting.
During a meeting between the FIQ, Premier François Legault and the President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, on August 21, the parties nevertheless agreed to speed up the pace of negotiations.
Several issues are dear to nurses, including mandatory overtime, the nurse/patient ratio, vacations and work-life balance.
For example, the FIQ wants to specify “that overtime must be voluntary and not compulsory, except in urgent and exceptional situations”.
She is asking for the adoption of a law on safe healthcare professional/patient ratios.
It also asks that all the bonuses provided for in the collective agreement can be converted into non-working time.
The collective agreements in the public and parapublic sectors expired on March 31.
The FIQ stands apart in this negotiation; it is not part of the inter-union common front.
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