Current issues

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 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.

Consult this page to see how contract talks for your 2023 collective agreement are progressing. Negotiations are just getting underway, and this page will be updated regularly. You’ll find everything you need – tracts, videoclips and e-newsletters – to get an accurate picture of the national bargaining issues. The APTS is staunchly committed to improving your working conditions in this new round of bargaining so that you can take care of yourselves and your loved ones. That’s our end goal, and we won’t back down!

Rising up! 

Fires are rising inside, outside, and everywhere. Inequality is everywhere. Violence is everywhere. Crises are everywhere. The climate crisis, the housing crisis, the crisis of our public services, the crisis of trust in our systems. Our systems are failing, outdated, and exhausted. We, too, are close to a breaking point. We are angry. Sometimes we are afraid. Yes, our fire could be extinguished, suppressed by our pain and our tears. But no. It is flaming, scorching, spreading. It is feeding off the struggles of some and the indignation of others. It is rising, seething, roaring. It will explode. It is already exploding, this fire that can heal us, that can unite us. This fire that can change everything.

The Collectif 8 mars brings together labour unions and feminist organizations representing nearly 800,000 women in Québec. It works to promote International Women’s Rights Day.

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.

It’s been almost a year since contract talks began for the renewal of our collective agreement. The Québec government has adopted a hardline approach, with complete unresponsiveness to workers’ demands and unjustified attacks on our working conditions. Today, the APTS and its Front commun partners – CSN, CSQ and FTQ – have no other option but to use the most effective pressure tactic, strike action, in order to increase the pressure on the government. This strike is historic: 420,000 Front commun members are together as one, speaking with one voice. We have the power to make things change, to neutralize the government’s attacks, and to achieve significantly better working.

BlueAPTS reflects the vibrant humanity of the 60,000 APTS professionals and technicians working in health and social services. Our online magazine is a great way to discover our members’ reality.

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.

The government is making a pretense of dealing with the mental health crisis

The Québec Program for Mental Disorders (Programme québécois pour les troubles mentaux - PQPTM) was introduced in 2018 with the aim of improving access to psychotherapy. The PQPTM is a standardized stepped-care model of care, ranging in the intensity of treatment from self-care, continuous monitoring and support groups to psychotherapy. The program is being implemented gradually and the government plans to roll it out to all institutions in the health and social services sector. However, questions are being raised about its effectiveness and its limitations. A survey of 3,000 APTS members practising in the field of mental health (more than 700 of whom are already working with the PQPTM) suggests that the program is actually likely to be detrimental to the treatment of various mental health disorders.

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

The APTS was incensed at the claim that 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 was renewed, and the pay equity complaints settlements. The QPIP rules don’t allow for benefits to be recalculated if the recipient’s file is no long active – which means that thousands of you are affected, and the vast majority are women. In our view, this situation is clearly discriminatory. The APTS decided to document this issue so we can contest the QPIP rules and get them changed.

With more than 65,000 members in all sectors of our health and social services system across the province, and with an exclusive focus on professionals and technicians in Class 4 personnel, the APTS shares your values and reflects who you are – professional, rigorous and efficient.

The APTS represents the overwhelming majority of workers providing youth services. For years, spokespersons for these 10,000 employees have been denouncing their work overload and the poor management practices that make it extraordinarily difficult for them to carry out their mission. In May 2020, the APTS spoke out on behalf of youth workers before the special commission on the rights of children and youth protection.

In the Québec public sector, does everyone get equal pay? A study from IRIS (Institut de recherche et d’informations socio-économiques) provides conclusive evidence that this is not the case. If the public sector is viewed as an extended family, public services – which include the civil service, education, and health and social services – are definitely the poor cousin, as becomes apparent when we compare the sector’s various branches.