The Plan to implement necessary health changes released today by minister Christian Dubé was met with mixed feelings of apprehension and urgency to act by unions in the health and social services system (RSSS). In spite of the minister’s laudable goals and the openness he has shown, the APTS, FIQ and FIQP, FP-CSN, FSQ-CSQ, FSSS-CSN, CUPE, SPGQ and SQEES-FTQ fear that this plan to overhaul health and social services will turn out to be nothing more than a vast public relations campaign leading up to the next election.
The unions believe the plan is quite ambitious and understand that not all of the measures submitted can be achieved in the short term. Several unions have already been the subject of announcements or commitments by the government. Therefore, they are demanding that minister Dubé prioritize the measures focused on improving the organization of work in order to offer better working conditions.
The unions are requesting that the minister take the first concrete step by implementing a series of solutions to attract and retain staff. He cannot wait five years to take action! They would also like to see immediate discussions to reach consensus on solutions that will be implemented as soon as possible.
They maintain that minister Dubé must give them a major say in the development and implementation of the chosen measures. The solutions brought forward by workers in the RSSS must be taken into account if he really wants to rebuild a public system that people can be proud of. The same strategy would apply to reach his goal of making the RSSS an employer of choice that attracts and retains employees in the public sector.
Moreover, the priority that has been shown to the private sector is of particular concern to the unions, who fear that under this plan funding would be diverted away from the public sector. The public sector is already short-staffed, and this would only get worse if private sector hiring expanded. This would produce a two-tiered system when accessibility to care and services in the province is already jeopardized. Unions are demanding a moratorium on all new privatization projects and are instead inviting the government to engage in extensive discussions with all partners in the RSSS to undertake a real overhaul of the system.
“Since the start of the pandemic, the Legault government has blown hot and cold whenever they have had to involve unions in decision-making around delivering care and services. They chose ministerial decrees rather than opting for true cooperation. The statements that Premier Legault made on his Facebook page, once again, appear to point in that direction. You can’t decree your way to rebuilding the RSSS, but this can be accomplished with trust and active listening. To rebuild the RSSS, everybody involved needs to collaborate. If minister Dubé truly commits to going down this road, he’ll get our cooperation,” said the representatives of the APTS, FIQ and FIQP, FP-CSN, FSQ-CSQ, FSSS-CSN, CUPE, SPGQ and SQEES-FTQ.