Quebec nurses unions will table an adjusted list of demands on Monday

Quebec health-care workers and members from the Quebec’s nurses union (FIQ) demonstrate to demand a new contract negotiation in Montreal, Wednesday, Sept. 6, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

The federation of Quebec health-care workers' unions (Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec - FIQ) will table an adjusted list of demands on Monday, as part of negotiations with Quebec for the renewal of its members' collective agreements.

The FIQ, which represents 80,000 nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists, made the announcement in a press release on Sunday.

FIQ vice president Jérôme Rousseau, who is co-responsible for the negotiations, told The Canadian Press early last week that the union already intended to review its demands and reduce their number, before Treasury Board president Sonia LeBel asked the public and parapublic sector unions to do so.

At the end of September, LeBel reduced her demands to five and invited the unions to do likewise.

"Basically, very little will change for us. Our adjusted demands show our good faith, but we are still a long way from an agreement," said Rousseau in the release. "The government is offering us a 9 per cent pay rise over five years. What's more, it wants to remove any form of stability from care professionals and treat them as interchangeable pawns. We will never accept that."

The FIQ's demands still concern better pay, improved workloads and better work-life balance, the union said in the same document.

FIQ-affiliated union representatives will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday to review the revised list of demands and discuss the upcoming strike vote.

The union said on Sunday that it would not grant interviews before this meeting.

With information from Lia Lévesque, The Canadian Press

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 8, 2023.