Douglas hospital carpenters, other maintenance staff want pandemic bonuses and 'respect'

A group of workers at the Douglas Mental Hospital held a protest on their lunch break on Monday, saying they're waiting for their pandemic bonuses.

They weren't health-care workers, but carpenters and other maintenance workers, and they argued that the province's premium to keep people on the job at hospitals should apply to them, too, since they work in the same setting.

"It would make a difference for them," said Fanny Demontigny of the SCFP union, which represents the workers.

"They built the walls for those units, the COVID unit -- they are there every day making sure stuff is done, repairs are made for that unit. They need to have access to it."

The province has been paying a premium of $1,000 a month to health-care workers to try to keep them on the job, amid widespread burnout and labour shortages, but the maintenance workers aren't eligible. 

That's despite several requests, Demontigny said. The workers protesting said they feel forgotten, working behind the scenes.

"We're starting to see some distress, a lot of people missing work," said Jonathan Deschamps, president of the SCFP union.

This also promises to create a strain on the system, he said.

Quebec has also had widespread labour shortages in the trades in the past couple of years.

In statements to CTV News, the province's health ministry and Treasury Board didn't respond to the union's demand, but said that the new compensation measures are meant to enhance clinic services for patients rather than compensate for the risk of exposure to the virus.

The maintenance staff said it wasn't just about the money for them.

"It’s 99 per cent about respect," said Patrick Peloquin, a carpenter at the Douglas.

"We built the gym, we built the unit for COVID, and the government doesn’t recognize us as essential."

He and his coworkers also said they planned to keep protesting until they get what they called fair treatment.