Contingency plan : The health minister finally heard our message
The health minister finally heard our message: there’s no more wiggle room in the health network. We are worried for our members who are already under unbearable pressure. We are worried for the patients who are currently not receiving all care and essential services. The minister had no choice but to announce some flexibility because he could see that he was steering us directly into a wall. All institutions are already implementing contingency plans in the field and it is our members who are shouldering the extra workload and doing mandatory overtime. We are avoiding chaos in the short-term, but we are not out of the woods. The network is still extremely fragile.
We can’t afford to waste anymore time. The FIQ demands that all unions participate in the reorganization of services in the institutions. This is not currently the case. The changes in management culture we are demanding in all forums must be implemented through concrete actions. Now we are waiting for a strong statement from the health minister that concrete initiatives and directives will be quickly put in place to stop the systematic use of mandatory overtime.