Private healthcare placement agencies won a round against the Legault government on Tuesday. The Superior Court orders, until March 21, the suspension of the call for tenders aimed in particular at the hiring of nurses and orderlies according to a single rate per job category.
Sixteen agencies are acting as plaintiffs in this case. In particular, they are against this obligation of a single rate per job category, whether it concerns the salaries of staff working in Sept-Îles, Montreal or Drummondville.
The government thus wants to prevent agencies from charging more than $100 an hour for a regular rate nurse. The agencies, they believe that the call for tenders will create chaos and will explode the costs of the use of independent health workers.
In court, the agencies demanded a status quo, saying that otherwise the opening of bids would take place before a judgment ruled on the tender launched in January. This call for tenders also provides that a nurse who leaves the public network cannot, for one year, work in an institution for an agency in the same region or even in a neighboring region.
Judge Michèle Lacroix agreed with the agencies, saying that “the balance of inconvenience leans clearly in favor of the status quo” for the moment.
In her context, Justice Lacroix also noted that health agencies “are historical partners of the Quebec health and social services network”.
“A step in the right direction”
Patrice Lapointe, President of the Association of Private Healthcare Personnel Companies of Quebec and President and CEO of the Progressive Services Agency, said: “For us, this is a step in the right direction. On several occasions, we tried to inform the government of the many problems associated with this call for tenders, in particular the principle of single pricing. »
“The court has also recognized that the issues raised are serious enough to suspend the call for tenders. »
In February, Minister Christian Dubé tabled a bill aimed at “liberating private agencies” from the health network.
Bill 10 provides that health and social services bodies may no longer use the services of personnel placement agencies or independent labour, except in the cases provided for by government regulation. .
Quebec wants to abolish the use of private agencies by 2026.