“It is a strong mandate to tell the government that the proposals we received at the negotiating table are unacceptable," the union says.
The Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ), representing 80,000 nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists, announced Wednesday night it will strike Nov. 8 and 9 after members voted 95 per cent in favour of a strike mandate.
“It is a strong mandate to tell the government that the proposals we received at the negotiating table are unacceptable,” FIQ president Julie Bouchard said in a statement issued by the union. “Already our working conditions are very difficult, what François Legault wants to do is degrade them even more by treating us like interchangeable pawns. He has no respect for our professional judgment or our personal lives. Establishment managers should prepare: the strike is coming.”
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Essential services will be maintained during the strike, and the FIQ said Quebecers “can count on the professionalism of healthcare professionals in the health network.” The Administrative Labour Tribunal has already approved the lists of essential services to be maintained.
The union has been without a contract since March 31. Its demands include salary increases, the abolition of mandatory overtime except in urgent situations, and legislation to establish safe nurse-patient ratios.
In August, the mediator assigned to the FIQ file concluded that it was impossible to present a recommendation, as the positions of the parties seemed so far apart. But Bouchard and Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel said Aug. 21 they were ready to speed up negotiations.
Wednesday’s strike notice comes as the Quebec government faces a separate strike threat from the common front of 420,000 public service workers, reportedly planned for Nov. 6.
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