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.
