Five years ago, the world was plunged into an unprecedented health crisis, and as a healthcare professional, you were on the front line of this fight against COVID-19. Although the last five years have left deep scars in your life, and for your patients and loved ones, they highlighted your professionalism, your courage and your determination. You have been able to cope with the pandemic while achieving significant advances in the recognition of your rights.

 

Management of the crisis: ministerial decrees and a communication war

From the beginning of the pandemic, the government imposed a management of the health network by ministerial decrees, which led to a lot of confusion in the field. Political decisions were taken in haste, without consultation, and with dramatic consequences for your working conditions. You were put in unacceptable situations: shortage of personal protective equipment, chaotic management of isolation zones, and a total lack of recognition of your expertise and your rights.

The various reports on the management of the pandemic have all shown that a government that does not recognize the expertise of its staff is seriously compromising public health.

Throughout the crisis, the government was everywhere on the communication front. But one voice was silenced: yours. To break the omerta, thousands of you testified about what you were experiencing on a daily basis with your patients, notably on the Je dénonce (I denounce) website and in the media, thereby forcing the authorities to be accountable.

 

Enforcing labour laws

The pandemic exacerbated occupational health and safety issues, which have always been at the heart of feminist concerns. For months on end, you had to endure extremely stressful working conditions, particularly as you had been exposed to considerable psychosocial risks, including the fear of infecting your loved ones. An excessive workload caused professional burnout; a silent violence long ignored by authorities.

Throughout the crisis, the FIQ and its union teams continued to be mobilized. They played an essential role, by supporting healthcare professionals, by implementing concrete actions to guarantee your safety and by taking legal actions to counter the poor management of the health crisis.

From the beginning of the pandemic, the FIQ put the precautionary principle at the heart of its strategy in order to protect healthcare professionals, by taking legal action against the CNESST’s failure to act. It solved problems relating to protective equipment, psychosocial risks and work overload.

In the March 2020 COVID agreement, the government agreed to provide protective equipment, reassign pregnant women and compensate certain expenses. The FIQ also demanded that dedicated teams be set up and training and orientation of healthcare professionals reassigned to other units. Moreover, a labour relations committee was set up to deal with subjects such as premiums, time off and access to vaccination.

In March 2021, a decisive victory was won at the Administrative Labour Tribunal concerning the mandatory wearing of N95 masks by healthcare professionals. This case was a major turning point, not only in terms of the physical protection of workers, but also in terms of the recognition of the crucial role of unions in defending healthcare professionals’ rights. Thanks to this victory, the FIQ was able to make workers’ legitimate demands heard, and the government was forced to submit to increased scrutiny.

 

A social crisis with lasting consequences 

Five years after the pandemic, it is impossible to ignore its impact on society as a whole. Women, in particulier racialized women and those from vulnerable settings, paid a disproportionate price during this crisis, both at work and at home. The many confinements and the crumbling of the social safety net have brutally revealed the inequalities between working men and women. Today, budget austerity and a reduction in public services continue to have dramatic repercussions on female Quebecers’ living conditions, in particular the most vulnerable.

This crisis showed that we can never take anything for granted. The path to a more humane public health network will be long, but it’s already paved by your battles, as both women and healthcare professionals. We need to continue to fight for a safer work setting, for us and for the patients, where working conditions will no longer be a factor of oppression, but a factor that will enhance the value of your work.

Today, it’s clear that you’re as essential as ever.

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