2023-08-16 19:07:09
(Quebec) Minister Christian Dubé rejects the request of health network managers who are calling for more progressive targets to put an end to the use of employment agencies. According to them, the planned transition is “too abrupt” and risks causing service disruptions.
“We’re not here right now, not at all. No need to think like that, ”launched the Minister of Health on his arrival at the Council of Ministers on Wednesday. It responded to the possibility of adding interim targets to wean the health network from labor placement agencies. For now, three major targets are planned to abolish their presence by 2026.
However, according to the Association of Managers of Health and Social Services Establishments (AGESSS), this transition is “too abrupt” and risks “destabilizing” the working conditions of employees, as reported The Press mardi.
This warning was issued during consultations on the draft regulation, published this summer, which provides a framework for several provisions of the new law. Bill 10 aimed at eliminating the use of personnel placement agencies in the health network by 2026 was adopted in February.
The AGESSS recommends in particular that Quebec set targets gradually limiting the number of hours worked by agency staff rather than “prohibiting it entirely from a fixed date and variable depending on the region”.
AGESSS does not question the ultimate deadline set at 2026, but it believes that its proposal might lessen the impact of the changes on staff and managers who “are already under pressure and overworked”.
Minister Dubé does not see the need for it for the moment, explaining that the choice to proceed by regulation gives him greater flexibility. “For example, if October 2024 was too early, we would adjust. But right now, I don’t see why we would change [nos cibles] “, he added. The plan proposed by Quebec is gradual depending on the regions. It goes as follows:
Date from which it will be prohibited for a healthcare establishment to use independent labour:
- October 20, 2024: Montreal, Laval, Montérégie, Capitale-Nationale and Chaudière-Appalaches
- October 19, 2025: Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec, Estrie, Lanaudière and Laurentians
- October 18, 2026: Bas-Saint-Laurent, Outaouais, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Côte-Nord, Nord-du-Québec, Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine and Nunavik
Consultations on the draft regulations ended on Monday. It is the Council of Ministers who will then enact the final regulations, which must occur by October 3, said Mr. Dubé. The draft regulation also defines the new ceiling rates – essentially those which were in force during the pandemic – that the agencies will have to respect.
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