Federal Council on December 5 and 6, 2023

Word from the President

The last regular decision-making meeting in June 2023 marked the end of the mailing of the paper version of the En Action newsletter. That is why today I am very pleased to present the new digital FIQ en Action, which from now on will be sent out to subscribers by email.  While the format may have changed, the goal is still the same: to inform you about the debates and decisions made by your representatives at federal councils.

At the federal council on December 5 and 6, there were several important and sensitive topics on the agenda: Bill 15 (now assented to), the state of negotiations and the strike, the priority actions and the 2024 financial forecast.

Regarding negotiations, despite a significant change in tone at the table following our first series of strike days, it is clear that there is still a lot of work to do before we reach an agreement. It will have taken a year, a half a million people in the streets and a 10-point drop in the CAQ’s popularity in the polls for the employer to finally decide to discuss our proposals. But it’s not over yet, and we will have to keep up the pressure until we reach a satisfying agreement.

We also addressed the new Act 15. On this matter, the FIQ is working with over a hundred organizations to denounce the excessive reform, which is predicted to be catastrophic for the health network. Thousands of people asked Minister Dubé to hit pause on his reform to fully evaluate the consequences of it. Despite this, in keeping with its methods, the government chose to act hastily and passed the law under a gag order in an anti-democratic and reckless way.

As concerns our priority actions, 2024 will be a pivotal year: deployment of the next collective agreement, work related to Act 15, and the adoption of a law on safe ratios. The same goes for our financial forecast, which must take these priorities into account. Still feeling the effects of the pandemic, the Federation must remain vigilant in order to restore financial equilibrium in the medium term.

It is already clear that 2024 will not be a restful year. All the same, we will remain mobilized to defend the rights of healthcare professionals and we will continue to support the strong public health network that Quebecers aspire to.

Julie Bouchard
Président

2024 Priority Actions

Every year, December is the month the Federation reflects on the priorities for the year ahead. This reflection allows us to renew our union engagement and to agree on the best direction for the future.

Unsurprisingly, the following three priorities were adopted by your union delegates for 2024:

1. Conclude negotiations for the new collective agreement and deploy the new work contract
2. Work that will stem from the adoption of Bill 15
3. Pass a law on safe ratios

Conclude negotiations for the new collective agreement and deploy the new work contract

Of course, our first priority will be to conclude negotiations for the new collective agreement and to deploy the new work contract.

We spent the fall season building pressure to obtain substantial gains for healthcare professionals. In the coming year, we will have to focus our energy on turning these gains into significant changes in your daily lives.

It will be crucial to quickly deploy the new negotiated measures. You deserve concrete solutions to your work overload and personal life-work balance issues starting now.

Work that will stem from the adoption of Bill 15

Bill 15 will have impacts on, among other things, labour relations in the field, as well as on the very foundation of our organization.

For the umpteenth time, the government is launching a massive governance reform in health and social services. This type of work is always filled with promises to improve access to care. Unfortunately, none of the 1,180 articles and the 500 amendments it contains actually seem promising for care.

The Federation will monitor the work closely and ensure that the consequences of the Bill don’t leave anyone behind.

Pass a law on safe ratios

This is THE structuring measure that could have a considerable effect on reducing exhaustion at work and improving attraction and retention within our professions. By claiming it is impossible to set up ratios at a time when there’s a workforce shortage, the government is trying to keep us in a false narrative.

However, the government created legislation on prohibiting independent labour within a context of dependence on agency workers. Let’s remind the government that the current shortage is structural and that it is high time that it be clear in its intentions toward healthcare professionals.

2024 Financial forecast

Following the adoption of the priority actions, the 2024 financial forecast was also adopted by your union representatives. Despite annual cost inflation which, fortunately, is beginning to slow down, the parameters of the 2024 budget will be based on the stability of the Federation’s finances.

As we come to the end of a 4^th year marked by COVID-19, 2024 will be a pivotal year in which major challenges lie ahead. The Federation must be vigilant, while ensuring quality services and meeting the healthcare professionals’ and affiliated unions’ needs.

With all the uncertainty that the wars, high interest rates, risk of recession, COVID-19 and Bill 15 bring, the 2024 budget is a sensible budget, in line with those of previous years. It’s a responsible budget that will ensure the long-term future of the organization.

Renewal of the group insurance contract

At the Federal Council on December 5 and 6, 2023, your union representatives accepted the renewal conditions for the FIQ group insurance contract for April 1, 2024 to        March 31, 2025.

The COVID-19 global pandemic had effects that are still being felt by the healthcare professionals who hold the health network together. Inevitably, the rising disability rate has repercussions that our insurer evaluates, and the renewal of our insurance contract is affected, particularly in terms of unprecedented professional burnout and the rising cost of drugs. However, the difficult decisions taken by your union representatives have proved beneficial and have helped to mitigate the increases demanded by the insurer. This will enable us to maintain or limit premium increases for the coming year.

Broad outlines:

• The rates for the dental care insurance plan are maintained;
• An increase of 5% in the rate is provided for each of the life insurance guarantees, which brings us back to the 2018 rates;
• The rate for the long-term disability insurance plan is maintained;
• The increase for the health insurance plan is limited to 5.2%;
• A partial premium holiday of 1.75%, will be applied to the health insurance premium;
• The weighted average contractual increase is in line with inflation.

Despite this good news, we must remain vigilant: the future of our group insurance plan depends on it.

DO YOU KNOW YOU CAN HELP LIMIT THE COSTS OF GROUP INSURANCE?

Bill 15: a disaster in the making for the health and social services network

At the Federal Council, the delegation took the time to discuss the draft of Bill 15, which became Bill 15 after being passed under a gag order a few days later. This major reform will fundamentally transform managing the health and social services network, bringing all institutions under the aegis of the Santé Québec agency, making this new agency the sole employer. Bill 15 will result in greater centralization of decision-making – the antithesis of local management, the merging of seniority lists, an unprecedented opening up to privatization and an anti-feminist vision of the health network.

We believe that its implementation will be a disaster for the health and social services network. Since the bill was tabled in March 2023, all the public network labour organizations, the APTS, CSN, CSQ, FIQ, FP–CSN, FSSS–CSN, FSQ–CSQ, SCFP, SPGQ and SQEES–FTQ, worked together with citizen and community organizations to counter the negative consequences of the Dubé reform. This mobilization will continue despite Bill 15 being passed.

Impacts on respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists

Only a few days before the reform was passed, the government announced it had made amendments to increase the number of classes of personnel from  4 to 6 and would move respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists from Class 1 to Class 6.

As soon as the FIQ heard the news, it conducted a wide-ranging campaign with the three opposition parties, associations of medical specialists and the professional orders in order to get Minister Dubé to back down, arguing in favour of maintaining unity within the care team. Unfortunately, Minister Dubé turned a deaf ear to our arguments and his government decided to go it alone.

A petition was also launched at the National Assembly to maintain these job titles in Class 1 and although Bill 15 has been passed, we will continue to mobilize to get the government to back down.

Your representatives in action