QUEBEC CITY -- A serious shortage of personnel in various ministries is directly threatening the quality of public services offered to the population, according to several Quebec government employee unions.
Five unions representing about 40,000 public sector employees joined forces on Monday to demand that François Legault's government hire the thousands of public servants they believe are needed to ensure the proper functioning of the Quebec government.
Meeting at a press conference in Quebec City, they say they would like to meet with the president of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, to make her aware of their demands as soon as possible.
They say they also hope that Finance Minister Éric Girard will reserve some thought for public servants as he prepares his March 22 provincial budget.
They say that as an employer, the Quebec government does not seem to see the seriousness of the situation, nor does it recognize that it is having increasing difficulty attracting and retaining qualified personnel in a large number of fields, such as psychologists, engineers, computer specialists, wildlife officers, correctional officers and others.
The five unions speaking out are the Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec (SFPQ), the Syndicat des professionnels (SPGQ), the Association des ingénieurs (APIGQ), the Syndicat des agents de la paix en services correctionnels (SAPSCQ-CSN) and the Syndicat des agents de la protection de la faune (SAPFQ).
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 14, 2022.
