VOLUME 10 No. 3 | FEBRUARY 12, 2020

PAY EQUITY AND SALARY RELATIVITY
Equality now: sign the petition!

The APTS encourages members to sign—by February 25—the petition that was submitted to the National Assembly on November 26, 2019. This petition calls for the Pay Equity Act to be revised ASAP.

A review of the Pay Equity Act would help address its shortcomings and make it comply with a Supreme Court decision requiring pay discrepancies to be rectified as of the date the changes engendering the discrimination occurred. This would apply to all pay equity audits, both past and future.

An ad backed by eight unions including the APTS will run this month in the newspapers, and three short videos will be circulated as part of this campaign.

PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
Highlight your achievements

The healthcare star awards (Stars du Réseau de la santé) are back for a second year! The aim is to recognize healthcare and social services professionals who have made a difference in their workplace. The 2018-2019 issue of Revue Santé presented the projects submitted by last year’s finalists, many of whom were APTS members. You have until March 1 to submit your candidacy. The Caisse Desjardins du Réseau de la santé will award prizes and bursaries totalling $20,000 as part of its Journée Santé activities on April 23.

APTS to appear before the Laurent Commission in April

About forty members met in Longueuil on February 5 and 6 and agreed on some 30 recommendations to be presented by the APTS at the Special commission on children’s rights and youth protection. The aim of the meeting was to pool the findings of the two groups of members consulted, who are from youth centres and frontline youth services, respectively. The participants remarked on the rigorous consultation process and the ensuing cohesiveness of the two groups, despite their different work contexts. The consensus that soon became apparent hinged on a shared concern that the children’s best interests be at the heart of our presentations to the commission.

The APTS is expected to be heard by the Special commission on children’s rights and youth protection in the third week of April.

Administering and dispensing medication - New version

The January 13 issue informed you of an update of a guide on the administration and dispensing of medication. It has been brought to our attention that a nuance about the actions authorized for dietitians/nutritionists was overlooked. Here is a revised version of the guide.

 

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY
Trivializing micro-aggressions: no more!

The APTS’ annual prevention campaign highlights the importance of changing our perception of micro-aggressions that occur repeatedly in certain workplaces. Even if they don’t result in time off from work, micro-aggressions come with their share of repercussions for physical and psychological health. We need to react and, most importantly, take action. The first step is to report micro-aggressions.

Given that management in some institutions doesn’t provide employees with the form for reporting dangerous situations, we have included a copy in our brochure.

Everything you want to know about the coronavirus

So far, there hasn’t been any probable or confirmed case of the coronavirus in Québec. To monitor the situation or learn more about the precautionary measures to be taken as health and social services personnel, consult the MSSS website or the Health Canada website.

 

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Transition pact signatories

It’s time to remind the Legault government to include in its bill on climate change what scientists deem essential targets: a reduction in greenhouses gases by at least 50% by 2030, and carbon neutrality by 2050. This is why all those who’ve signed the transition pact are invited to send a message to Premier Legault, environment minister Benoit Charrette, and their MNAs.

The message is clear: we want a real climate law that includes the obligation to meet science-based targets. The spokesperson for the transition pact, Dominic Champagne, delivered this message to the parliamentary committee on Bill 44, the Act mainly to ensure effective governance of the fight against climate change.

SOCIAL SECURITY
RREGOP estimate

Since last fall, the social security sector has a new resource person to answer calls and provide support services concerning the SSQ group insurance plan and the RREGOP retirement plan.

More specifically, she can estimate what your pension benefit would be in the various scenarios envisaged. To learn more about the information needed to obtain a pension estimate, or for any question on the RREGOP or our group insurance plan, send an email to retraite.assurance@aptsq.com. Don’t hesitate to use this service!

Agreement between insurers and pharmacists

The Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association (of which the SSQ is a member) and the Association québécoise des pharmaciens propriétaires have reached an agreement on various aspects of pharmacists’ fees. Unfortunately, the agreement did not eliminate the gap between the cost of drugs under private plans and the cost under the RAMQ public plan. (See the article published in La Presse.) Insurers can create tools to inform their clients of the cost of drugs available at pharmacies in their neighbourhoods, but we doubt that our SSQ insurer will make those tools available in the short term.

This article confirms, once again, that a public and universal pharmacare plan is THE solution to lower the cost of prescription drugs.

Exclusive rates for your car and home insurance

Did you know that you can save on your car and home insurance thanks to our agreement with SSQ Insurance? The APTS recently renewed its agreement to bring you exclusive discounts and benefits. Find out how! 

COMMUNICATIONS
APTS en conseil général

From January 21 to 23, 250 APTS delegates met in Québec City to discuss the current provincial contract talks. For an overview of the points discussed, check out the APTS en conseil general, which is available online.

 

LABOUR RELATIONS
Guilty of improper management behaviour

An arbitrator ruled that an employer had abused his management rights by not acting with respect and in good faith. In the employer’s estimation, an employee working in the emergency room (who was represented by the APTS) was not giving enough priority to the objective of returning patients to the community. Without any investigation, the disgruntled employer ordered the employee to be immediately withdrawn from his assignment in the emergency room, where he had been working for the past eight years. The employer then let 40 days go by before informing the employee of the reasons for removing him from his assignment.

The arbitrator pointed out that a reasonable employer would have never acted like that, with no consideration for the psychological or monetary impact of such a decision. The arbitrator also pointed out that the ensuing investigation found nothing amiss on the part of the employee.