Federal Council on June 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2024

Message from the President

A regular federal council was held on June 3, 4, 5 and 6, 2024. Over four days, your delegates were the spokespeople for your anger and indignation in the face of a government that is solely focused on the Dubé reform, which doesn’t seem at all in a hurry to settle the real problems in the health network.

And yet the solutions exist and the Negotiating Committee has taken every opportunity to remind the employer of this. Negotiations continue and the federal council was an occasion for the Negotiating Committee to present a progress report on its most recent work at the table.

Moreover, the June council is the time when, every year, the Executive Committee presents the organization’s financial statements. With the ongoing negotiations and the major upcoming changes, the Dubé reform in particular, it is essential that our finances be carefully managed.

Lastly, I would like to use this platform to once again highlight the crucial role that you play in the health network. And, as I said in my recent blog post on Healthcare Professional Month, your expertise and humanity make you indispensable pillars in our healthcare system.

In solidarity,

Julie Bouchard
FIQ President

Financial statements: Rigour is key

At the federal council, there was a presentation on the 2023 financial statements. It is an important exercise that lays out the evolution of spending, to avoid surprises and measure the effects of adjustments that were necessary given the changing political and economic context.

As we expected, the provincial negotiations affected several budget items. And since negotiations could go on for quite a while longer and the Dubé reform is taking shape, rigorous financial management is even more important. That is how the Federation and its affiliated unions will be able to position themselves for the future and face the important changes coming in the next few years.

Note: Differences are due to rounding off of decimals

Negotiating Committee’s progress report

The rejection of the tentative agreement in April 2024 led to a slow down at the bargaining table. Even though discussions continue based on that tentative agreement, there is a clear gap between the positions of the FIQ and the government. As the government sees it, the five demands adopted by the delegation on April 29, 2024, are excessive, which makes the work more difficult. Meetings are scheduled with the employer party until mid-July.

Moreover, in the last few weeks, Ms. LeBel and Mr. Legault and Mr. Dubé have resumed their public relations strategy on the negotiations underway, in particular by attacking the FIQ and calling it uncompromising and inflexible. Clearly their goal is to put pressure on the Federation so that we accept their offers. In attacking the FIQ this way, the government is really attacking nurses, licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists since it is their voice that the Negotiating Committee represents at the table. And healthcare professionals are not stupid: they know very well that their demands are legitimate.

In the coming weeks, your union delegates will meet with you to discuss the issues at the bargaining table. There are also several actions planned to maintain pressure on the employer party and to get it to understand that you are determined to improve your working conditions.

If you haven’t already, we invite you to take part in the #MyDepartmentMyExpertise campaign so that the government can see the faces of FIQ member healthcare professionals and so that it understands that it needs these 80,000 nurses, licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists if it wants to truly improve access to health care.

Feel free to contact your local union team with any questions or to participate in upcoming actions.

Your representatives in action