Letter or agreement no36 - Regarding special conditions for certain job titles involving work in mental health

CONSIDERING  that the government wants to increase mental health services by focusing on employees with certain job titles in the class of health and social services technicians and professionals who work in mental health;

CONSIDERING  that the government wants to increase the offer of psychotherapy services, in keeping with the provisions of an Act to amend the Professional Code and other legislative provisions in the field of mental health and human relations, known as Bill 21 and adopted by Québec National Assembly in June 2009;

CONSIDERING  that the act of psychotherapy is performed almost exclusively by psychologists, yet other job titles working in mental health may also be authorized to do so;

CONSIDERING  that clause 9.08 of the collective agreement enables the Employer and the employee to agree that work hours may be arranged differently than the weekly hours of work stipulated for the employee’s job title, providing that the total number of days and hours worked over the period during which the work hours are spread out does not exceed the number of days and hours that would have normally have been worked during that same period;

The parties agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1 SCOPE

Unless they are modified by this Letter of Agreement, the provisions of the collective agreement apply to employees with the job titles mentioned in Articles 2 and 4 of this Letter of Agreement.

ARTICLE 2 EXTENDED WORK HOURS

From the date the collective agreement comes into force, the terms regarding the increase in hours set out in this Article apply to employees who work in mental health and hold one of the following job titles:

• Guidance counsellor (1701)
• Criminologist (1544)
• Occupational therapist (1230)
• Psychoeducator (1652)
• Clinical sexologist (1573)
• Social worker (1550)

The Employer and the employee who requests it may agree to an extended schedule. This schedule may not exceed 37.5 hours per week and is deemed to comply with the List of job titles, job descriptions and salary rates in the health and social services system, but does not modify it. The regular work week for the employee in question is the one in the new extended schedule, and these rules must not result in overtime.

ARTICLE 3  JOB POSTING

Following an increase in hours set out in this Letter of Agreement, when a newly created or vacant position is posted for job titles listed in Article 2, the Employer must:

• Post newly created positions based on the weekly work hours stipulated in the List of job titles, without providing the option of a 37.5-hour work week;
• Post newly vacant positions based on the weekly work hours stipulated in the List of job titles, without providing the option of a 37.5-hour work week. However, positions that already had a 37.5-hour work week may be posted with a 37.5-hour work week, if the List of job titles stipulates this number of hours.

When a person with a full- or part-time position obtains a position based on a regular 35-hour or 36.25-hour work week, the Employer may offer that employee the option of permanently upgrading the position on the basis of a regular 37.5-hour week.

These rules must not result in overtime for the employee benefitting from the change.

ARTICLE 4  PSYCHOTHERAPY PERMIT

From the date on which the collective agreement comes into force, the rules regarding the psychotherapy permit in this Article apply to employees working in mental health who provide psychotherapy services based on the Employer’s needs and who hold one of the following job titles:

• Human relations officer (1553)
• Guidance counsellor (1701)
• Criminologist (1544)
• Occupational therapist (1230)
• Psychoeducator (1652)
• Clinical sexologist (1573)
• Social worker (1550)

Employees who provide psychotherapy services will be reimbursed for the initial cost of obtaining a psychotherapy permit and, on a yearly basis, for membership fees, the cost of professional liability insurance and expenses for training – other than training leading to a master’s degree – when this is required to carry out their duties.

Expenses and costs are reimbursed upon presentation of receipts, and the reimbursement is not prorated.

ARTICLE 5 PROVINCIAL INTER-UNION COMMITTEE

Within ninety (90) days following the date on which the collective agreement comes into force, the parties set up a provincial inter-union committee focusing on special conditions for certain job titles involving work in mental health.

MANDATE

The committee has a mandate to:

1. nalyze rules for the involvement of service users’ loved ones in order to optimize the delivery of mental health services and follow-ups;
2. analyze the impact of including employees licenced for psychotherapy in teams;
3. identify solutions that would allow employees who have the following job titles to contribute on the front line to identifying the signs and symptoms of the most common mental health disorders:
   • Human relations officer (1553)
   • Guidance counsellor (1701)
   • Criminologist (1544)
   • Occupational therapist (1230)
   • Psychoeducator (1652)
   • Clinical sexologist (1573)
   • Social worker (1550)
   • Any other relevant job title
4. make recommendations and produce a final report to the negotiating parties no later than six (6) months before the collective agreement expires.

COMPOSITION

The committee is made up of nine (9) members appointed as follows:

• four (4) representatives for the employer side including one (1) representative of the Direction de la santé mentale and one (1) representative of the Bureau de la négociation gouvernementale of the Treasury Board Secretariat;
• five (5) representatives for the union party including one (1) representative of each of the following unions: FSSS-CSN, FP-CSN, APTS, SCFP/CUPE-FTQ and SPGQ.

The committee can also agree to invite, at various times, representatives of various partners.