88% of Montreal Pinel Institute union members accept the agreement in principle

Members of the media wait outside the Philippe-Pinel Institute in Montreal, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2012. (Graham Hughes, The Canadian Press)

National Institute of Forensic Psychiatry Philippe-Pinel union members in Montreal have given their 88 per cent approval to the agreement in principle reached with their employer on the renewal of their collective agreement.

The Syndicat de professionnelles et professionnels du gouvernement du Québec (SPGQ), which represents some one hundred members at the institute, confirmed in a news release on Saturday that the agreement in principle had been ratified.

The turnout for the vote on the agreement in principle was 57 per cent, and members were also able to vote online.

The new five-year contract will run until March 31, 2028.

Under the new contract, employees will be entitled to pay rises of 17.4 per cent over five years. In addition, there is an inflation protection clause of up to one per cent for the last three years of the collective agreement if inflation exceeds a certain threshold.

Although it was not part of the Common Front - made up of members of the CSN, CSQ, APTS and FTQ - the SPGQ was subject to the same wage offer from management.

The agreement also provides for a 10 per cent salary increase for psychologists, as well as improvements to holiday, group insurance and workplace premiums.

At the Philippe-Pinel Institute, the SPGQ represents criminologists, psychologists, social workers, psycho-educators and many other professional staff.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Feb. 24, 2024.