PROVINCIAL CONTRACT TALKS
Front commun rejects government offers

Front commun member organizations gave a unanimous “NO” to the Treasury Board’s offers at the central bargaining table on December 15. These offers included a 9% pay increase over five years. The respective decision-making bodies of the APTS, CSN, CSQ and FTQ were united in dismissing the government proposals as totally inadequate to deal with the major problems plaguing public services. For public service workers, today’s record inflation rates are only part of the problem. In terms of overall compensation, they trail other Québec workers by 3.9%, and the gap widens to 11.9% when you consider wages alone.

Care to learn more? You’ll find complete information about the government’s unacceptable offers and the Front commun demands in the issue of Info Négo sent out on January 25, 2023.

PAY EQUITY AND SALARY RELATIVITY
Update on pay equity issues

The latest issue of the Pay Equity and Salary Relativity Newsletter covers ongoing issues such as the 2020 pay equity complaints and requests for creation of new job titles. It should be of interest to many of you. An English translation is coming soon and a link to it will be included in the next issue of the Fil.

UNION ORGANIZING
A new provincial mobilization committee

The APTS extends warm thanks to the 10 highly dedicated people who sought to join the provincial mobilization committee. “I’m happy to see that our members are enthusiastic about developing a strong culture of mobilization at the APTS. This is the cornerstone of our work as a union,” said APTS president Robert Comeau in his opening remarks at the General Council meeting on January 24-26. Committee members were elected at the close of the event. Our congratulations go out to: Yan Fortier, community recreation leadership technician at the CIUSSS de l’Estrie - CHU de Sherbrooke; Geneviève LeBel, medical technologist at the CHU de Québec - Université Laval; social worker Colin Domingue and medical imaging technologist (nuclear medicine) Joanie Brisson, both employed at the CISSS des Laurentides. Their mandates will involve working with the union organizing sector on developing and updating the APTS’s annual mobilization action plan.

BlueAPTS
Medical imaging technologists do much more than meets the eye

Anick, Mathieu, Nathalie and Marie-Eve are all technologists working in the field of medical imaging, specializing, respectively, in medical electrophysiology, nuclear medicine, radiation oncology and radiodiagnostics.. They point out that although the work they do is varied and vital, few people understand the demands of their profession, and their expertise too often goes unrecognized. We spoke with them so that we could give you a better idea of what they do. Read all about it in BleuAPTS! There will be a link to an English translation in the next issue of the Fil.

FEMINIST ACTION
Show off your feminist resistance

The slogan for International Women’s Rights Day in Québec this year is “Feminist resistance,” celebrating the diversity, sisterhood, solidarity and determination that distinguish feminist struggles. To read the Collectif 8 mars manifesto, go to the March 8 page on our website, and don’t forget to download our visuals so that you can proudly celebrate the many forms of feminist resistance.

LABOUR RELATIONS
Only two months left to access the budget for professional development!

Under the national provisions of the collective agreement, an annual budget is set aside to help Class 4 employees develop their professional practice. This budget represents 0.28% of the total payroll and must be spent no later than March 31, 2023. Rules for how the budget is allocated and what expenses are eligible are established by agreement at the local level. Contact your local executive to find out if there is any money left in the budget and, if so, how you can access it.

THE APTS IN THE MEDIA
Youth protection: a record-breaking waiting list

As an article in La Presse reported last week, the waiting list for youth protection assessment in Québec has reached a record 5,100 + names. “If child abuse were a virus, we would have declared a Québec-wide state of emergency by now,” said APTS president Robert Comeau. “Each one of these 5,100 cases is a situation that may get worse. And there's a risk that we'll drop the ball on some of them.” The APTS is monitoring the situation closely: this Monday, we will meet the minister responsible for social services, Lionel Carmant, to discuss the situation of youth protection teams and find solutions that will serve the needs of children in Québec and youth workers who are at the end of their rope.

Maison des aîné·e·s residences: off to a bad start

It hasn’t taken long for Québec’s first Maison des aîné·e·s residence for seniors, located in Sherbrooke, to drive employees away: 13 people have quit within a few months of the doors opening. According to Danny Roulx, provincial representative and spokesperson for the Estrie team, one of the reasons for this exodus is an acute lack of space for employees: “They have to do administrative work in shared spaces, handling confidential data in areas that are open to residents.” It looks like the MSSS may once again have acted too quickly, setting up residences without considering the needs of the workers who are actually providing Quebecers with services. For more information, see the Radio-Canada story and article on this topic.

Use of outside workers creates vicious circle

The CISSS de la Gaspésie is heading straight for a deficit due to its reliance on private agencies – according to none other than the CEO of the institution. Jenny Tardif, APTS political liaison officer and spokesperson for the Gaspé, told a Radio-Canada interviewer. She’s concerned that services to Gaspé residents are being cut back because of the institution’s financial woes. She says time is running short. “Why aren’t steps being taken to attract and retain personnel in the public sector? The use of outside workers creates a vicious circle that can only be broken by improving working conditions for public service workers.”

Pivot, an independent media outlet, confirms these concerns. Their report on this topic (in French) explains: “[Agencies] are everywhere. They’re expensive, they drain personnel from the public system, they create imbalance among work teams, and they can even affect the quality of care.” Worth reading and sharing!

Employees forced to pay back $1,400 bonus

The saga of the disorganized employer continues at the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal. Months after having paid out premiums for which employees in CLSCs were not eligible, the CIUSSS is determined to get the money back and has even taken action without obtaining the necessary authorizations. On Paul Arcand’s radio show, Caroline Letarte-Simoneau, political liaison officer and spokesperson for the Centre Sud de l'Île de Montréal, roundly criticized the administration’s lack of consideration for our members.

SOCIO-POLITICAL ACTION
2023-2024 budget: how to make a fair budget that provides benefits for all

With the Québec government’s pre-budget consultations in full swing, the APTS was determined to give the Finance Minister’s office food for thought. Our brief points out that the state of Québec’s budget is a pleasant surprise as we emerge from the pandemic; at the same time, this gives us even more reason to be angry about the financial instability of the health and social service system. Given this situation and given the need to protect the integrity of our social fabric, the brief proposes bold fiscal measures that would give the government greater financial leeway, and calls for a budgetary shield to ensure long-term funding for health and social services.

GUEST SPEAKER | How to fight racism in the workplace

At the General Council held on January 24-26, delegates welcomed columnist and media commentator Émilie Nicolas, who gave a talk on racism in the workplace and how to fight it. Nicolas discussed the concepts of racism and racialization, providing an in-depth analysis of their meaning, the different forms they take, and the resistance  that naming them sometimes elicits. She began by pointing out that if we want to fight racism, it’s not enough to believe in equality. “Races have no biological basis, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have an impact in real life.” To explain why it’s important to acknowledge systemic racism, Nicolas pointed out that when it’s not acknowledged, the struggle against racism is reduced to a strictly individual issue, relieving public policymakers of any obligation to take appropriate action. Stay tuned for a detailed account of Nicolas’s talk in BlueAPTS.

Our commitment to fight racism, in pictures

At the General Council held on January 24-26, the Cultural Diversity committee presented the visual identity platform designed to support the APTS's actions to fight racism. Fourth APTS vice-president Sandra Étienne described the concept as follows: “The sun, which belongs to everyone and shines on everyone without discrimination or distinction between cultures, is a powerful symbol for us. Its rays symbolize the different shades of our skin colours, and our slogan, ‘Embracing cultural diversity,’ encourages us to welcome cultural differences with open arms.”

ORGANIZATION OF WORK AND PROFESSIONAL ISSUES
Health and social services information: medical archivists take centre stage

In December 2021, Minister Dubé tabled a bill to regulate how health and social services information is accessed and used (Bill 19). This prompted the APTS to call upon the ultimate administrators of clinical-administrative information: APTS members who are medical archivists. We consulted them, and they told us about many problems with the bill. We conveyed these concerns to the Ministry of Health and Social Services (MSSS) through various channels, including meetings related to the plan to reform the healthcare system (Plan santé).

Bill 19 as such was not destined to survive the end of the parliamentary session, but it did return to the forefront of parliamentary life under the name of Bill 3. Major changes had been made to this second version, to the satisfaction of the APTS and those we had consulted. Our brief, submitted to the National Assembly last month, explains that the new bill is a step in the right direction, but could be made better and clearer. We also raise significant concerns about protecting Quebecers’ privacy and safeguarding the relationship of trust between health and social service providers and service users.

We conclude by warning lawmakers not to fall for the lure of an all-digital environment, and to be aware of the major challenge posed by the move to full digitization. Meeting that challenge means getting medical archivists involved in the process from the ground up and making adjustments that will enable them to help the project succeed without seeing their working conditions deteriorate.

Acute psychological distress in labs

The General Council meeting on January 24-26 provided an opportunity to talk about conditions in biomedical laboratories. There are several factors contributing to the state of acute psychological vulnerability in the field, including the ongoing implementation of OPTILAB, widespread work overload, the departure of medical technologists from test centres, and the chaotic process of deploying the information system in labs (SIL). In response, the APTS has intensified its media activities and political representations, particularly with respect to the health-care reform plan, and has undertaken a series of lab visits that will continue until September 2023. Our union also met with Ministers Dubé and Carmant to drive home how important it is to have people on staff with a post-secondary diploma in biomedical laboratory technology, and to stress the need to provide these employees with more psychological support. The ensuing presentation and discussion emphasized how crucial it is to recognize and support these professionals. We will be organizing a number of actions focusing on this issue.

Continuum of care and services for seniors: a meeting in February as part of Plan santé consultations

Our first General Council in 2023 was also an opportunity to take stock of the situation regarding the continuum of care and services for seniors. Delegates were told about the outcome of consultations involving the home care and CHSLD subcommittees in late fall 2022. These conclusions will be presented to the MSSS during a meeting on the “Seniors and vulnerable persons” section of the Plan santé on February 21. A review of the work accomplished will be presented at the June 2023 General Council.

COMMUNICATIONS
Put a face on your profession!

Would you like to help showcase your profession? We’re looking for photos of our members:

• Criminologist
• Ethics advisor
• Human relations officer
• Lawyer
• Medical archivist
• Medical illustrator or photographer
• Medical laboratory technician
• Occupational hygiene technician
• Remedial learning specialist
• Speech-language pathologist

Your photos will be published on the APTS website and social media during the specific days or weeks chosen to highlight your profession.

Interested? Send one or two passport-type photos clearly showing your face, or a photo of yourself at work, to info@aptsq.com; be sure to indicate your job title and your institution. If we can’t use any of your photos in the months to come, we’ll keep them on file for future use.

SOCIAL SECURITY
WEBINAR | The RREGOP and other pension benefits

Whether you’re at the beginning of your career or just about to retire, this webinar gives you the tools you need to optimize your participation in your pension plan. The next session will take place on February 23, 2023, at 5:30 p.m. (in French).

I'll be there

* Sessions last about two hours.

** Union leave time cannot be granted for this type of meeting.

If you have any questions, write to us at retraite.assurance@aptsq.com