Quebec nurses vote for strike

After two days of electronic voting, members with the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ) have decided to join the public sector strike on Nov. 8 and 9.

The federation states 74 per cent of its 80,000 members voted electronically on Tuesday and Wednesday, with 95 per cent voting in favour of a walkout ranging from a one-day to an indefinite general strike.

"We're talking about nearly 60,000 professionals who have voted in favour of strike action, which is unprecedented. It's a very, very strong mandate that speaks for itself," said FIQ President Julie Bouchard. "It's a sign of just how fed up care professionals are with their current working conditions, that they're prepared to do anything to ensure it gets better, and better pay too."

In addition to pay rises, nurses say they want to end compulsory overtime and lower patient-to-nurse ratios.

This single electronic poll differs from that of the inter-union Common Front, which includes the Centrale des syndicats du Québec (CSQ), Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS), Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ) and Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN).

The Front consulted its members union by union over a four-week period. Most of them also supported the strike at rates of around 90 per cent.

Despite the strike, essential services will continue to be provided, as ordered by the Administrative Labour Tribunal last June in anticipation of a possible labour dispute.

"Care professionals have patients' health at heart. Their objective is to put pressure on the employer, not on the patients. Quebecers can count on the professionalism of care professionals in the health care network," the FIQ said in a press release.

In addition to the two strike days planned in November, the FIQ says it will consider the possibility of continuing walkouts if negotiations with Quebec fail.

"We've been at the negotiating table for nearly a year, and we're still faced with an employer who turns a deaf ear when we speak out," laments Bouchard.

She said the plan is to start with two days of strike action and then see if the government makes any move to negotiate.

"Our working conditions are already very difficult, but what François Legault wants to do is make them even worse by treating us like interchangeable pawns. He has no respect for our professional judgement or our personal lives," Bouchard said.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 26, 2023.