The FIQ nurses union says negotiations with Quebec have reached an impasse, and they are considering stepping up pressure tactics – in the near future.
The Conseil du trésor, or the province’s Treasury Board, maintains that there is no impasse.
The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ) has been without a collective agreement for 500 days.
At a press conference in Montreal on Monday, FIQ President Julie Bouchard reiterated that negotiations are “at an impasse” and are stalled over the issue of nurses’ expected mobility.
Health establishment managers want to be able to move nurses from one care unit to another, or even from one establishment to another, in response to needs. Nurses see this as a refusal to recognize their expertise, and a way of regarding them as interchangeable pawns.
The FIQ already has a strike mandate, which is still in force. Its members walked off the job for several days in November and December 2023.
“Is this the first thing we’re going to do? No. We have other pressure tactics planned,” she replied, without elaborating. However, the FIQ says it is prepared to go that far if necessary.
The Treasury Board, reiterates that “the status quo is not an option in order to offer the health care to which the population is entitled”. It points out that it has already reached agreements with the other union organizations.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews