nurses union

Workers in blue scrubs stand over an operating table with fluorescent lights above.

MUHC nurses ‘not very pleased’ with new collective agreement, says union head

October 21, 2024 by Jules Bugiel

Quebec’s largest nursing union finally has a new collective agreement.

After being without an agreement since April 2023, 66.3 percent of voters in the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) approved the proposal of a conciliator in an Oct. 15-17 referendum.

Nurses will see a 17.4 percent salary gain from 2023 to 2027, but will lose their 3.5 percent pandemic premiums. A contentious mobility clause was scrapped, to be replaced by provisions at the local level.

Treasury Board President Sonia Lebel took to X to laud the new agreement, saying it adds much-needed flexibility for Quebecers trying to access healthcare in off-peak hours, and has the potential to bring private-sector staff back into the public sector.

But Jennie Rhee, president of the union local at the McGill University Health Centre, disagrees. She joins CKUT to discuss.

Quebec nurses weighing new round of strikes

August 22, 2024 by Jules Bugiel

Last Monday (Aug. 12) marked 500 days without a collective agreement between the province and the Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ). Now, the FIQ say they’re considering amping up their pressure tactics – and that striking is not off the table.

The FIQ’s 80,000 nurses and healthcare technicians rejected an earlier draft agreement in April by 61 per cent. The main sticking point was a mobility clause, which would see workers be transferred to another healthcare centre up to 25 kilometres away – 35 kilometres off the island of Montreal – with just a month’s notice.

Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel, meanwhile, has said on Twitter, now known as X, that there’s “no impasse” at the bargaining table, and that the government has been able to come to agreements with other unions – even with new mobility provisions.

Jennie Rhee, president of the FIQ local at the McGill University Health Centre, joins CKUT to discuss.

Quebec’s nurses return to the picket line this week

December 12, 2023 by Jules Bugiel

This week, Quebec’s largest nursing union, the Fédération Interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), is back on the picket lines for a four-day strike (Dec. 11-14).

Nurses say the pandemic worsened existing vulnerabilities in the healthcare sector and caused an exodus of staff. Now, they’re asking for better pay to attract and retain people in the profession.

FIQ spokesman Roberto Bomba joined CKUT by phone to discuss what brought these 80,000 workers to strike.

MUHC nurses ‘not very pleased’ with new collective agreement, says union head

Quebec nurses weighing new round of strikes

Quebec’s nurses return to the picket line this week

Some rights reserved © 2024 - frequencynews.ca

Developed and hosted by Natiotech