Calling the latest offer "insulting" and "unacceptable," the biggest nurses’ union in Quebec walked out on negotiations with the Liberal government Wednesday.
The FIQ represents 66,000 nurses and other health care professionals who have been trying to negotiate a new collective agreement with Health Minister Gaetan Barrette.
“We need a completely new offer,” said FIQ vice-president Line Larocque.
FIQ said its nurses and other healthcare professionals aren't happy with their working conditions. They say they've offered suggestions on how to re-organize the system to ensure patients get the best care possible, but they say the government is not listening.
“For us the major issue is to find a way to put a certain number of professionals either at home or in the establishment, put the right person in the right place. Presently it's not like that,” said Larocque.
Salaries are also at issue. The government is sticking to its proposal of a salary freeze for the next two years, and still wants to cut premiums offered to nurses working in critical care and nurses who work night shifts.
The union said it's already hard enough to attract workers and keep them, and so has no choice but to walk away from the table.
“There's no way to find any solution in that and it's an insult for us because we cannot present that to our members,” said Larocque.
Barrette said he was taken aback by the wording.
“I'm quite surprised to hear that kind of vocabulary. This is not the feel of the meeting that I had with them recently. I had meeting with (FIQ President) Mrs. Laurent and others and I'm quite surprised to hear that kind of comment,” said Barrette.
Union executives will be meeting their members next week, and they say they will recommend they vote to reject the government's latest offer.
They have no plans to go back to the negotiating table until the government comes up with a new offer.
