‘Summer will be very difficult’ for healthcare workers

Health care workers fear a very tough summer season in hospitals across the county.

The emergency occupancy rate is “exploding in almost all emergencies in Quebec” and hospitalizations are “very present,” according to Julie Bouchard, president of the International Federation of Quebec Professionals (FIQ).

“So we’re again seeing an overload of work with the absenteeism rate always, in the network, all just as important with the shortage of healthcare professionals, but also in all the other workers in the health network.” Ms. Bouchard argues in an interview with LCN.

The FIQ chief also decried the fact that Forced Overtime (TSO) has become a “management method” often used by management.

“I confirm that the summer is going to be very difficult and the TSO is part of the management. So when we see that someone is missing, we have the TSO, and these are not the business conditions that will help attract and retain the network.”

So eight union leaders from the community gathered on Monday morning to ask Legault’s government to intervene before workers leave the community.

“We, what we are currently asking from the government, the Minister of Health, is to have work tables between unions, among other things, so that we can name the real problems, but also to agree together on solutions that will help us get through the summer, but that will help us Also to get to the next negotiations that will start in early 2023,” says Ms Bouchard.