First, your Negotiating Committee would like to wish you all the best in the New Year. Barely underway, it’s already shaping up to be a busy winter.

Gathered at a special federal council on January 16 and 17, 2024, your union representatives got up to speed on what has been happening in negotiations in recent weeks. Remember that at the conciliator’s recommendation, there was a media truce from December 29 to January 15 in order to avoid a confrontation between the government and the FIQ in the public sphere at a time when all media outlets wanted to know how negotiations were going.

During the same time, the Common Front unions and the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE) announced tentative agreements, which their members are currently deciding on. Negotiations are not over for the FIQ. They will continue until an agreement is reached that meets the nurses’, licensed practical nurses’, respiratory therapists’ and clinical perfusionists’ priorities.

Negotiations are still stuck around several fundamental issues, especially overtime, mandatory reassignment, implementation of safe ratios, weekend shift salary increases, and the organization of work time. These subjects are complex and will take time to settle. But rest assured that the Negotiating Committee is determined to put in all the time needed to conclude negotiations and obtain real improvements in working conditions and care quality and access.

With the media truce over, it is time to resume our actions to keep up the pressure and get the government to hear us. If you haven’t done so already, we encourage you to share your priorities for the public health network by sending your CV to Christian Dubé to apply for the new CEO position of Santé Québec. He wants a Top Gun manager to run it? Let’s show him that at the FIQ there are 80,000 Top Guns in nursing and cardio-respiratory care who are ready to make the public health network more humane.

Also, on January 22 at 7 pm, Julie Bouchard, FIQ President, is inviting you to a live stream on Facebook for an update on negotiations. Follow us on our various platforms to learn about our next actions.

While your Negotiating Committee still doesn’t have a settlement hypothesis in hand, your representatives are confident that we have the right strategy and can reach a satisfactory agreement.

Let’s stay mobilized!

Your representatives in action