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.
