Trois-Rivir0065s, Tuesday, October 26, 2004 Today, votes at the Centre de services en df0069cience intellectuelle (CSDI) de la Mauricie-Centre-du-Qub0065c were counted. The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), affiliated with the FTQ, has won two of the three votes between CUPE and the CSN and increased its support in all the categories.
First category, office workers, technicians and administrative staff at the CSDI, the participation rate was 100%, with all 56 employees voting. In the past, CUPE represented 46% of the employees. Today, CUPE received 42 votes against 13 for the CSN, representing a little over 76%. One ballot was rejected.
Second category, health and social services technicians and professionals at the CSDI, CUPE again won over the CSN with 213 votes against 122, or 64% of the votes cast. Before the vote, CUPE had represented 53% of the employees.
And the third category, paratechnical personnel, auxiliary services and trades at the CSDI, the results were 167 votes for the CSN and 78 for CUPE. Even though CUPE did not take the lead in this category, it did nevertheless increase its supporters from 24% to 32%.
Bill 30
In the wake of the health and social service institution mergers, Bill 30 forced union allegiance votes to be held and thereby obliged workers to choose which union would represent them. These unionization votes will continue until June 2005. The first wave took place from September 7 to October 8, in the form of postal votes supervised by the Qub0065c Labour Relations Board.
Bill 30 (Act respecting bargaining units in the social affairs sector and amending the Act respecting the process of negotiation of the collective agreements in the public and parapublic sectors) is one of the laws passed under the gag order issued last year by the Charest Government. In each institution, staff have been reorganized into four employee category groups: 1) nursing and cardio-respiratory care staff (ex.: nurses, nursing assistants, inhalation therapists), 2) paratechnical staff, auxiliary services and trades (ex.: orderlies, general maintenance employees, practitioners in residential environments), 3) office staff, technicians and administration professionals (all administrative support staff) and 4) health and social service technicians and health professionals (ex.: educators, hygienists, psychologists, speech therapists, etc.).
CUPE
CUPE represents 20,000 members in health and social services in Qub0065c, approximately half the FTQ members in this sector. CUPE is also active in 10 other sectors including education, municipalities, urban and air transportation, provincial corporations and public organizations, hydroelectricity and communications. With close to 100,000 members in Qub0065c, CUPE is the largest FTQ affiliate.
Other information is posted on the Internet at scfp.qc.ca
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SOURCE: CANADIAN UNION OF PUBLIC EMPLOYEES (FTQ)