Cabinet ministers are meeting with union heads Monday night in what's described as a last-ditch effort to resume negotiations, with just two days before contracts for public sector employees expire.
President of the Treasury Board Monique Gagnon-Tremblay, Health minister Yves Bolduc, and Education minister Michelle Courchesne planned to meet with representatives of several public unions which have joined forces in what's called the "Front Commun."
At a morning press conference at Maisonneuve Rosemont Hospital to announce emergency room upgrades, Bolduc was confronted by a frustrated crowd of unionized healthcare workers, including one man who said they are becoming depressed and sick because of their job conditions.
Deadline imminent
The unions had asked for a deadline of March 31 to come to an agreement on new contracts, but talks have stalled in recent days -- with an umbrella group for nursing unions, the FIQ, walking away from negotiations entirely on Friday.
"It's not a negotiation. (It's) you take it or leave it. We left," said FIQ vice president Michele Boisclair.
In Monday's newspapers, the government took out full-page ads stating that public finances demand rigorous control, and that it is already offering salary increases of $2.3 billion.
The PR campaign says the offer is reasonable and responsible at a time of economic uncertainty, and that the government is not demanding layoffs or salary reductions.
Unions disagree, and for the past month have been taking out their own ads calling on the government to raise salaries.
They have also held several noisy protests, the most recent of which was on March 20th.
The unionized workers are now organizing pressure tactics, and are planning to distribute information pamphlets to the public.
