The Héma-Québec Nurses Union (SPI) is planning a new strike day as part of the negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreement, which remain at an impasse.
Nurses, nursing assistants, counsellors and technicians will hold picket lines Wednesday afternoon in front of four Globule centres in the Montreal area, in addition to a demonstration in front of the Bell Centre where a blood drive is being held all day.
This is the fourth day of strike action by Héma-Québec nurses since last July.
In a press release, the CSQ-affiliated union said it "strongly denounces the lack of respect and recognition shown by their employer towards them."
Management "insists on offering its nurses and nursing assistants lower salaries and working conditions than those offered in our public health and social services network," said Nancy Landry, president of the SPI.
The salary issue is the main point of contention, as well as other clauses, such as overtime, schedule stability and vacations.
Héma-Québec nurses have been without a work contract for more than three and a half years. This summer, close to 500 of the organization's workers in five unions voted to renew their collective agreement. They include laboratory technicians, nurses (in Quebec City), drivers and other job titles.
- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 19, 2022. This article was produced with the financial support of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowships.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
