Current issues

Let’s face it: our health and social services system is not in good shape. But we at the APTS believe that there is nothing inevitable about this situation. In fact, we think that a strong public system providing high-quality services is entirely possible: all we need to do is make it an undisputed priority and give it appropriate funding. Discover how!

Work overload is a major problem that tends to get worse with each new reform of the health and social services system. The APTS has developed a series of factsheets providing a deeper understanding its various aspects  Stay tuned – we’ll be putting them online over the next weeks.

We’re excited to begin the next stage of our political campaign on the theme A strong union for a strong public system. The APTS is calling on elected representatives and senior managers of health and social service institutions to design bold policies that will provide Quebecers with public services that are accessible, inclusive, and based on equality.

Technology is already part of our practices, but its use raises important questions. Whether we’re talking about data protection, the dehumanization of services or professional ethics, we need to define the place of technology in the health and social services system.

Expanding the scope of professional practices is one of the pillars of the Legault government’s health care reform plan, the Plan santé. It is being presented as one of the main solutions for addressing the labour shortage, and extensive work is currently being done on this issue. This could result in a major transformation of the organization of work in your workplace.

The clock is broken. Time moves forward, but our hard-won rights can slip back. Each falling grain of sand reminds us: we cannot afford to stand still. The far right is gaining ground, and the road ahead is uncertain.
On March 8th, we rise. With our fists in the air, we declare our refusal to back down. That raised fist symbolizes our collective strength. The Venus symbol in the palm of our hands stands for our freedom: our freedom to choose what we do with our bodies and our lives.

Update: On December 4, 2024, the Government of Québec announced its intention to table a bill to reform the process for negotiating collective agreements in the health and social services system and other areas. This bill could affect the validity of answers in this FAQ.

The APTS will study the bill once it is tabled to analyze the provisions and their impact on the negotiation process in the public sector and to propose necessary improvements. This FAQ will be updated once the bill has been reviewed.

Last year, we denounced the reconfiguration of job classes without consulting employees, and we will continue to fight for union representation based on communities of interest, defined by and for members.

________________________________

You didn’t receive a retroactive QPIP adjustment? Read this:

The APTS is incensed to learn that yet again the Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) is unable to pay employees the benefits owed to them, taking into account the retroactive salary paid when the collective agreement (2023-2028) was recently renewed. The QPIP rules don’t allow for benefits to be recalculated if the recipient’s file is no longer active – which means that thousands of you are affected, and the vast majority are women. In our view, this situation is clearly discriminatory and the APTS is continuing its fight to contest the QPIP rules and get them changed.

The APTS has developed a set of FAQs as a tool to help you navigate the 2020 pay equity audit, covering the period from December 21, 2015 to December 20, 2020.

It’s been a year and a half since the Laurent Commission report was tabled and we still haven't seen any improvement in conditions of practice at youth centres. Waiting lists are getting longer, wait times are interminable, and working conditions remain gruelling. Overwhelmed by crushing workloads, youth workers in youth protection and rehabilitation centres are sending distress call: "Are you ever going to help me?"
 
 

The United Nations General Assembly has declared November 25 to be the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and a call has been made for governments and organizations to take action in order to raise public awareness of this social evil that puts women’s lives, safety, and hopes for equality at risk. The campaign in Québec will reach its peak on December 6, National Day of Remembrance and Action to End Violence Against Women, commemorating the femicides carried out at Montréal’s École Polytechnique in 1989 and the death of 14 young women.