PROVINCIAL CONTRACT TALKS
#NEGO23: we're presenting our demands

The Front commun – APTS, CSN, CSQ and FTQ – will be in Québec City on October 28 to file its demands with the Treasury Board Secretariat. Our demands are those of 420,000 workers employed in education, health, social services, and higher education, speaking with one voice to get decent pay and better working conditions. Starting at 9:45 a.m., elected officials from the common front labour organizations will be speaking to emphasize the importance of this event, a key step in the next round of public-sector contract talks. The event will be broadcast live on the APTS Facebook page. Don’t forget to add it to your events – you’ll want to watch this special moment in your provincial contract talks!

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY | FEMINIST ACTION
Intimate partner violence and the workplace: show your solidarity!

Sunday was the beginning of Occupational Health and Safety Week, which will continue until October 22. This week, the APTS is proud to present its brochure on Intimate partner violence and the workplace, available in the OHS section of our website. Our brochure discusses employer obligations and the role played by your union, and tells you how to provide coworkers who are dealing with violence with the support and solidarity they need. Contact your local team for more information.

Have a good Occupational Health and Safety Week!

LABOUR RELATIONS
New rates for travel expenses

Every year in April and October, the Treasury Board issues a directive on travel expenses for employees who use their personal vehicle, raising the reimbursement rates set out in clause 33.01 of the national provisions of the collective agreement. As of October 1, 2022, the new allowances are 59¢/km for the first 8,000 km and 53¢/km for any distance covered after that. An extra 14.8¢/km is provided for distances travelled on gravel roads. For full details, see the Treasury Board’s directive (in French).

ORGANIZATION OF WORK AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
Labs: the government needs to act before it's too late

The APTS has pointed out over and over again that OPTILAB, a centralizing reform that ignores employees’ expertise and was carried out without regard for human factors, has been the main cause of the labour shortage in labs. Unsurprisingly – at least for us – we’re now reaching a breaking point.

This summer, we denounced an unbearable situation in the Gaspé lab: the team there is now in a situation where a single absence will lead to a break in services. At the CHUM (Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal), the labour shortage at the blood bank is such that major operations have been postponed; this information comes from Nathalie Moreau, president of the CHUM local executive, who was interviewed by the Journal de Montréal last week. And on Monday morning, La Presse published an open letter from 4^th APTS vice-president Sandra Etienne in which she explains that “despite the essential role [played by lab employees with post-secondary diplomas], these government orientations [have devalued the profession] more than ever before.” She adds that “the lack of qualified personnel leads to an overwhelming level of work overload [...], which is causing many to leave the ship.”

Solutions do exist, but the health and social services ministry needs to listen – which is why the APTS is intensifying its presence in the public arena and on the ground. More actions are coming up. Stay tuned!

RESEARCH | Moral distress at the DPJ

Tell your story! As part of a research project for her master’s degree, Charlotte Saint-Pierre wants to collect information about the experience of social workers working for the DPJ (Direction de la protection de la jeunesse). She is specifically interested in tensions between your ethical responsibilities and the institutional and organizational constraints you have to deal with. If you’re a member of the OTSTCFQ and are willing to participate in an interview that will last about an hour (in person or by Zoom), don’t hesitate to get in touch with her.

BLUEAPTS
"Plan santé ": what is it?

Three years. That’s the deadline the Legault government has set itself to put the health and social services system back together with an action plan designed to make it “more human” and “more effective”. But what is the actual content of Minister Dubé’s Plan santé, aka the “Plan to implement changes needed in health care”? What are the Ministry’s objectives, how will it try to reach them, and, especially, what will be the impact on our system? We’ve gone through the 90-page document to find the answers. Read all about it in a new article in BlueAPTS.

SOCIAL SECURITY
Coming soon: your RREGOP participation statement

Your 2021 statement of participation in the RREGOP (Government and Public Employees Retirement Plan) will be available by mid-December. You can view it on the My Account page of the Retraite Québec website. However, if you’re 48 or older and haven’t indicated you want a digital statement, it will be sent to you by mail. For environmental and financial reasons, we encourage you to choose the digital option.

If you’ve registered for the digital version, Retraite Québec will send you an email as soon as your document becomes available online. If you have a question about your My Account settings, contact the Retraite Québec customer service department.