FIQ, too “aggressive”? “This is certainly not a reasonable request.”

Panelists include the Interprofessional Health Federation of Quebec (FIQ) and its president, Julie Bouchard, who are negotiating with the government. The Joust.

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“The FIQ is the most aggressive union in its comments and its demands – by far. When we listen to the words of the FIQ president, we can clearly see in her voice that she is very tough when she talks about the government,” suggests Gayton Barrett immediately.

“Her demands are disproportionate in many ways,” he said, referring to the demands of nurses, who not only have their salaries indexed to inflation, but also want to be paid 50% more of their salaries for working weekends.

In an interview with Le Bilan last Thursday, Ms. Bouchard defends the position of nurses, saying, “There are many professions, mainly male, that pay more than 50% of their regular salary when working on weekends. .”

Athlete Marie Montpetit, however, agrees with her co-panelist.

“This is certainly not a reasonable request. I understand that this was probably done as part of another request, but when we take it in isolation, we have to pay time and a half for unfavorable hours … “she explains.

“I agree that we should certainly make an economic effort to fill the health network with difficult inconvenient hours, but time and a half… it’s not just utopia, it’s like saying nursing is 9. Job from morning to 5 pm. There is no one who starts this career by saying they are not going to work in the evenings or weekends,” Ms. Montpetit further points out.

“Let’s make a special law”

Yasmin Abdelfadel, who spoke to Ms Bouchard on QUB Radio, indicates that she has given assurances that her union will not back down on the request.

“It’s not [des quarts de travail pour lesquels] We call you at the last minute because we are busy and someone is missing. These are already planned shifts and the person knows in advance that they will be working that weekend and it’s 50% extra because it’s a weekend? It doesn’t work, it doesn’t work,” Jouster argued.

“And it shows how the rigidity of the unions is detrimental to the progress of the negotiations,” she lamented.

Gaétan Barrette also recalls that the problem of these negotiations does not stop at the question of salary, but concerns, for example, the quality of the service provided, as well as the working conditions of the employees.

“If these negotiations end only with salary, there will be no improvement, that is impossible. Where will the position of the FIQ take us… The president said, they will not move until the time and a half at the weekend,” he stated.

“Alright! Let’s go home and make a separate law. At a certain point there had to be flexibility on both sides,” Jouster recalls.

To know the full opinion of the panelists of The JoustListen to the video at the beginning of the article.