October 11, 2016

In Nicolet on October 5 and 6, 2016, an event took place that I believe deserves to be celebrated. A new labour organization was born, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec – FIQ | Secteur privé (FIQP). The workers of the healthcare sector working in private institutions will now be able to count on a strong voice to defend them.

In order to properly understand what led to the creation of the FIQP, we must go back to the passing of Bill 10, sponsored by Minister Gaétan Barrette, which caused the regional merger of the majority of healthcare institutions, therefore also creating new regional unions representing these new entities that are the CISSSs and CIUSSSs. In fact, there will be a vote on the certification of these new unions from January 30 to February 24, 2017.

There is no doubt that the arrival within the FIQ’s ranks of these new regional unions, which are larger and have greater means, will have an impact on the democratic representation within the organization. This is why it became imperative that the unions from private subsidized institutions that were not affected by the mergers make sure that their voices would be heard within the Federation.

However, the creation of the FIQP has opened a door beyond the issue of representation. By uniting in this way, the healthcare professionals from the private sector will broaden the FIQ’s horizons. Thanks to the FIQP, our interventions will henceforth concern the entire healthcare sector, not only the public network. Our organization will be better equipped to defend all of those who wish to build a healthcare network that is more humane and that is truly based on the needs of patients and healthcare professionals. From now on, there will no longer be any reason to miss out on the FIQ.