Press releases

The minister is proposing a prevention system on the cheap for sectors in which women make up the majority. It’s unfair and discriminatory; every worker in Québec deserves the same protections!

It is clear to us that the limitations on the right to strike contained in this legislation won’t succeed if tested in the courts: union rights are human rights.

Pointing out that the right to strike is enshrined in both the Québec and Canadian charters of rights and freedoms, unions have signaled they will explore challenging Bill 89 before the courts.

The APTS recognizes the importance of modernizing the bargaining process, but that effort should be rigorous, transparent and in a genuine spirit of partnership with labour organizations.

It’s time to stop pushing the idea that the public system doesn’t work. Our governments are underfunding it, neglecting its workers, and quietly masterminding the shift to the private sector. There’s nothing inevitable about this – it’s a political choice.

The APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) takes note of the election of Mark Carney as Prime Minister of Canada, at the head of a Liberal minority government.

Responding to the tabling of Bill 101 by labour minister Jean Boulet, the APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) said that the bill includes both promising measures to reduce arbitration delays and unacceptable rules regarding prevention and participation in occupational health and safety.

The APTS takes note of the tabling of Bill 100 by Treasury Board president Sonia LeBel and welcomes the government’s commitment to reform. For the first time in decades, an attempt is being made to modernize the public sector negotiating process. However, the APTS emphasizes the need for a rigorous and inclusive approach. 

The APTS is deeply worried about the impact of Bill 98, tabled by Jean-François Roberge, the minister responsible for democratic institutions. Introduced under the guise of fighting election disinformation, the bill sets up restrictions that could seriously threaten the freedom of expression of unions and citizens’ groups in the period leading up to an election.

There is real beauty in these jobs, despite a severe labour shortage and challenging conditions. The APTS is proud to pay tribute to medical lab workers.

This measure won’t solve anything. It’s a makeshift solution, and its limitations are now obvious. If we really want to end the labour shortage, we need to improve working conditions so that people actually want to settle in these regions.

The labour movement is made up of faces, voices and realities that deserve to be seen and heard. This proactive process is an attempt to revitalize it, ensure greater social justice, and build a future where workers acting together can take their place.

It’s time for political courage and vision if we want to reverse course and finally offer universally accessible, quality care. We hope Minister Girard is up to the task.

The APTS is responding to the 2025-2026 Québec budget by denouncing inadequate investments to ensure sufficient funding for the health and social services system despite investments in social services.

Rather than undermining employees’ rights, it should tackle the actual issues that are compromising services to Quebecers: difficult working conditions, work overload and employee retention.

As announcements of budget cuts have multiplied in recent weeks, an impetus of mobilization is taking shape: nearly 6,000 people signed a letter to François Legault, Éric Girard, Christian Dubé and Lionel Carmant urging them to take bold measures to guarantee stable, sufficient financing for the health and social services system.

Bill 89 will benefit employers at a time when inflation and a labour shortage would justify improving workers’ conditions. Boulet should listen to the unions.

The APTS demands the recognition of seniority for all persons affected by this issue and the withdrawal of challenges to rulings handed down in previous cases.

Thousands of health and social services workers are owed significant amounts of money that government is failing to pay, making their situation more precarious.

Instead of tackling issues of access to health and social services and quality of care, instead of fixing our public services and making Quebecers’ lives better in real ways, the CAQ is choosing to restrict a fundamental right.

Québec can’t settle for half measures. We need to protect the public system. We call on the government to go further and adopt an effective strategy to consolidate the public health and social services system.

The APTS announced today that it has filed an official complaint against Santé Québec for interference with union activities for the non-payment of negotiated premiums. Despite a signed agreement and clear commitments, thousands of health and social services professionals and technicians are still waiting for the amounts due.

We need to break the vicious circle where the public system is weakened by budget cuts that force us to rely on the private sector, creating a shift that is then used to justify further reductions. According to the APTS, the answer is to establish a budgetary shield.

The APTS will continue to step up measures and efforts to ensure its 65,000 members quickly receive the amounts due to them.

The deal includes a 17.4% pay raise over five years, guaranteeing parity with the health and social services system. This improvement in working conditions recognizes the expertise and dedication of APTS members.

The APTS welcomes the intention to walk back the imposed reorganization of union representation but will monitor the possible impact on the negotiation process in the public sector.

Today’s demonstration was intended to remind the government that reforms must not be carried out at the expense of care, services, or the working conditions of the people who provide them.

We’ve got to keep on fighting, and we don’t have to wait for the next collective agreement to do that.

Given the current state of the public system, this adds insult to injury. We need to stop asking the impossible from employees who are already close to the edge. Our people are worried about the future of public services, period.

Almost a month after the deadline set for adjustment and payment of premiums granted as a result of the last contract talks, the APTS is sharply critical of the government’s inability to honour its commitments to workers in the health and social service system, and denounces the impact of this inability on services provided to Quebecers. 

APTS members at the INSPQ firmly denounce the employer’s demands, which represent unacceptable setbacks and could push them to seek better conditions elsewhere.

The APTS is sending the government a clear message: the insidious privatization of our system must end, and public health care and social services must be protected.

The government needs to find a global approach to solve the problem of attracting and retaining employees. It can’t just keep reacting and merely add new premiums whenever there is a crisis.

Our demand is simple: we need to implement an energy, ecological and social transition that benefits all Quebecers, and a true social dialogue that will ensure that Quebecers are included in decisions.

The extension of the premium is a direct response to the acute need for qualified personnel in the Outaouais, especially in a context where retaining skilled employees is a major issue.

The Montréal West Island CIUSSS hid from employees their potential exposure to asbestos since June 2023. Public Health finally met with them on July 24, 2024 to explain the risks they had been exposed to. The APTS is outraged by the situation, which it has just recently learned of, and would like to ensure it never happens again.

The APTS objective is still to get an incentive premium for all medical imaging technologists in the Outaouais, since some of their colleagues are already receiving it, and then to keep on talking with the government to get an equal premium for everyone.

The APTS knows we need to improve working conditions for youth workers: it’s practically impossible to find teams that aren’t experiencing staffing shortages, whether in major centres or in the regions.

The APTS is offering, once again, to cooperate in finding concrete and effective solutions to attract and retain employees, and to improve conditions of practice and the organization of work in labs.

Contract talks are over, but the labour shortage is still very real. We’ll keep fighting for all of our people who are providing Quebecers with crucially important services.

For this reform to be successful and promote the accessibility and quality of public services to Quebecers, it must be accompanied by better working and practice conditions, as well as adequate workforce planning.

To fix the situation, we need to take swift, collective action to put in place a safety net that will ensure the future of public labs.

Our political leaders aren’t listening, so it’s up to us to make ourselves heard. What was true yesterday is just as true today and remains so tomorrow: when we’re united, our voices carry.

Faced with a looming break in medical imaging services in the Outaouais region, the APTS says that it has reached an agreement with the Québec government that is intended to achieve a degree of parity with Ontario in terms of overall remuneration.

Ms. Biron faces major challenges, the first one being to demonstrate that she understands and supports the culture of the public system.

The future of public-system medical labs will be the focus of discussions on May 6. For National Medical Laboratory Week, taking place this year from April 14 to 20, the APTS will hold a major event in Québec City: a provincial-level day of reflection on the future of labs in the health and social services system.

Bill 53 represents a long-awaited opportunity to end the culture of silence. It contains welcome advances, but the scope of the whistleblower law, which is too restrictive, needs to be expanded.

We need to put health before profit. We need to stop making so much room for the private sector in health and social services. Choosing public services will always be the most responsible decision.

How many rulings will it take for the government to understand that it has to work with unions to implement solutions in the health and social services system?

All of Québec wants quality public services, and our unions can be counted on to continue to defend them.

As a society, we must do whatever is needed to reestablish the value of jobs in our public sector and attract new employees.

The minister responsible for the status of women was very receptive to the information presented.

Legislative changes are not the only issue: mentalities, too, must change.

This settlement is highly significant in that it establishes the legitimacy of whistleblowers and their right to be protected when they denounce a harmful situation in the workplace.

For the APTS, the commissioner’s report contains interesting proposals, but it also raises concerns regarding the continuum of care and services for seniors.

Our members now have the floor. The details of the agreement will be presented to them in general assemblies, and it will be their move.

The next step is to present that proposal to our respective decision-making bodies.

The gains we’ve achieved today could lead to progress in this regard and could favour attraction and retention of employees holding any of our 108 job titles.

We’re willing to negotiate an agreement that will benefit our members and all Quebecers, but we’re also determined to achieve the conditions that will enable us to maintain pressure for as long as required to reach this goal.

By attacking what little stability is still provided by working conditions, the government is stepping on the gas and heading straight into the wall. It needs to do exactly the opposite.

For the Front commun, the government bears a significant share of the responsibility for the strike. The current stalemate at the bargaining tables is caused by the fact that the government is refusing to table offers that would meet workers’ urgent needs.

Sitting in a corner making up laws and doing just what he likes is irresponsible and disrespectful, especially when Quebecers’ health is involved as well as the social safety net that almost everyone depends on.

There will be no agreement unless our members’ purchasing power is protected and unless they are provided with a catch-up pay increase. We won’t let any of our members get poorer.

We have to maintain our purchasing power, but we’re also demanding real gains. The survival of our public services is at stake!

Our announcement is an indication that we’re serious and that we’re determined to reach a settlement before the holidays.

Here, we are witnessing an attempt at political intimidation – a first in the history of public-sector contract talks in modern times.

Faced with the government’s unwillingness to move at the bargaining tables, Front commun members will keep on ratcheting up the pressure.

If our paths cross today, why not join us for a moment to show your support? Let’s make history together, by making sure Québec’s public services are designed for all of us.

The Front commun stated that the request for conciliation is intended to produce real movement at the bargaining table and bring the parties closer to agreement.

The unions are urging the government to show that it too would like to reach a settlement quickly, and they say they are ready for intensive discussions over the next days.

The new provincial executive committee will work to achieve better working conditions in the health and social services system and to draw attention to the challenges faced by professionals and technicians on the ground.

The goal is to reach a win-win settlement for workers and services to the public. No one wants another strike, but we’ll be ready if we have to be.

The government is creating a serious injustice at a time when the burden of overtime is carried by all workers in the public system.

 “An extra 1.3% over 5 years – pathetic. It’s just a big fuss about nothing.” Front commun representatives were extremely disappointed, though not terribly surprised, when they learned the contents of the offer tabled this morning by the Treasury Board. This offer is seen as an affront. Once again, the government simply doesn’t understand the problems experienced in public services or the urgency of saving a ship that is about to sink. It is also utterly disconnected from workers’ anger as they continue, despite their exhaustion, to carry the weight of fragile public services on their shoulders.

We also know that Quebecers don’t want to keep on living with deficient public services suffering from continuous labour shortages. We sincerely hope this strike day will be enough to get the government to make a serious move, which will minimize the inconvenience.

The APTS views the announcement as a promising first step and hopes that this new approach will quickly spread to other sectors in the health and social services system, in cooperation with workers active on the ground.

Given the strength of our mandate, the government will have to take it seriously. If it still doesn’t know what’s going on, this is the ultimate signal.

Taking note of statements made this morning by Treasury Board president Sonia LeBel, the Front commun said that after almost a year at the bargaining tables, the ball is now in the government’s court.

In response to the Québec Ombudsman’s recently tabled 2022-2023 annual report, Front commun spokespersons have asserted once again that staff shortages are at the heart of current public-sector contract talks, with the report confirming a situation that employees in public institutions have been sharply criticizing for a long time.

“As if the government’s offer to increase our pay by 9% over five years wasn’t going to make us poor enough, they’re now putting icing on the cake (or should we say a squirt of lime juice in a Labatt Bleue?).” Such is the Front commun’s take on the government’s refusal to extend a number of premiums and other measures beyond September 30, 2023.

Faced with a government that is still completely unreceptive after almost a year of contract talks, all of the unions making up the Front commun have decided to seek a mandate for strike action, including an unlimited general strike. To obtain this mandate, the unions will be holding multiple general assemblies beginning September 18.

Unions representing these job titles will continue to take recourse as needed to ensure that their members’ rights are respected and that they receive fair compensation for the work they do.

The unions are sharply critical of the fact that government leaders have spent more time trying to undermine union credibility in the public arena than coming up with solutions that would improve working conditions, conditions of practice, and services to Quebecers.

We want to reach an agreement quickly, but not at any cost. We hope the conversation will pick up the pace over the summer, with accelerated exchanges at the bargaining tables.

The APTS is calling for better working conditions and due recognition of the value and importance of these job titles, to help attract qualified workers and keep them in the public sector.

Mental health services must be made available through the public system. People should be able to access quality services quickly and easily. This is a right for all Quebecers, and access shouldn’t depend on the size of their wallet.

The APTS insists on the need for concrete measures such as recruiting qualified professionals, increasing both financial and material resources, and ensuring collaboration between the various parties.

The reform must also meet the system’s real challenges by decentralizing it, making it more democratic, and ensuring that services are more accessible.

We are taking legal action to protect the right to organize and freely engage in fair and equitable collective bargaining.

It’s also good news that François Enault has been reelected as first vice-president of the CSN and that he continues to be in charge of public-sector contract talks. The Front commun’s 420,000 members will undoubtedly benefit from his commitment and experience.

The labour coalition’s goal is to make sure key instruments are available in case the government forces it to use them.

The Barrette reform already introduced too much centralization – we should be learning from its errors.

Inflation is bringing very significant negative consequences, while big corporations and the wealthiest individuals are deriving substantial profits from the situation.

It takes a lot more than “work reorganization” and “flexibility” to mitigate the devastating impact of labour shortages on the daily lives of everyone who works in the public sector. We must reinvest in the public sector at a level commensurate with the gravity of the situation.

The APTS will continue to defend the interests of its members and will communicate its recommendations and expectations regarding Bill 15 during specific consultations.

The Front commun noted that in order to get the full picture of the government’s new proposal, it will be necessary to wait and see the content of sectoral offers that will be presented at the various bargaining tables over the next weeks.

After so many years of litigation, our unions are proud of having finally achieved this recognition for biomedical engineering technical coordinators.

it’s also a new insult to government employees. The government is still asking them to tighten their belts, offering pay increases that are less than the inflation rate it’s expecting over the next years.

Participants attending the meeting insisted on the need to consider women’s different realities and the distinct issues they face.

Addressing MNAs in a parliamentary committee, the APTS noted that urgent action to improve the working conditions of health and social service employees was first and foremost among these improvements.

We want decentralized labs, and we want employees to be treated with greater consideration.

One of the current issues impelling feminists to speak out and resist is the climate emergency.

The government’s refusal is incomprehensible and disappointing. The CAQ is refusing to use the best instrument possible to evaluate the impact of its policies on women.

The APTS is very surprised by the content of offers regarding mental health services that were received today.

With medical labs in the health and social service system under intense pressure, the APTS welcomes the position taken by two federations representing Québec physicians, who strongly criticized the centralization of labs and its destructive impact in a letter disclosed by the media today.

The Front commun reacted sharply to misleading statements made today by health minister Christian Dubé and premier François Legault, who admonished unions to come to the bargaining tables.

Hundreds of members of four unions were protesting against a complete deadlock in labour relations that is severely damaging the quality of their personal and professional lives at the Montréal West Island CIUSSS.

New legislative tools for the government to limit the use of independent workers are on the way ― but increasingly heavy reliance on placement agencies in the health and social services sector is cause for concern at the APTS.

To coincide with parliament reopening at the National Assembly, the APTS announced its checklist for the Legault government this winter and spring, targeting five key areas of health care and social services.

The Front commun has unanimously rejected the initial offers tabled by the Treasury Board on December 15, including 9% pay increases over 5 years, in talks to renew public-sector collective agreements. With one voice, union delegations at the CSN, CSQ, FTQ and APTS dismissed the government proposals as totally inadequate to deal with the serious problems wracking public services.

The APTS congratulates Magali Picard and Denis Bolduc on their election as President and General Secretary of the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec (FTQ).

In the current context, raising minimum wage by a dollar is a show of contempt for the reality of workers’ lives.

The government still doesn’t seem to understand that all health and social service employees are bearing the brunt of the crisis in the system and not just people with specific job titles.

Ignoring inflation and wage lag, Legault expects employees, mainly women, who shore up public sector to retire later and settle for $1000 lump sum payment.

Lionel Carmant himself stated just this past Friday that the waiting lists for access to mental health care are still ‘jammed up’ at more than 20,000 people. The current shortage of psychologists in the public system is unprecedented, particularly when it comes to young and vulnerable people.

A year and a half after the Laurent Commission tabled its report, conditions in youth centres still haven’t changed. Waiting lists are getting longer. There are endless delays, and conditions are extremely difficult in the various work settings. Our members are running on empty. This excessive workload is undermining their ability to provide essential services. No one is more concerned about young people’s quality of life than workers in youth centres. Today youth workers cry out for support: “Are you ever going to help me?”

The APTS is pleased with the agreement in principle ratified yesterday at a special general assembly by members employed by the Pointe-Saint-Charles Community Clinic, as part of contract talks leading to the signing of the collective agreement.

With public-sector talks looming, the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ) has once again this year confirmed a stark reality: in terms of overall compensation (including employee benefits), public-sector workers are persistently lagging behind other Québec workers. As of April 1, 2022, the gap was 3.9%.

Facing a critical situation arising from the shortage of psychologists in the public health, social services, education and college sectors, a coalition of eight labour organizations today called on Treasury Board president Sonia LeBel, health minister Christian Dubé, education minister Bernard Drainville, higher education minister Pascale Déry, and Lionel Carmant, minister responsible for social services, to meet with them as soon as possible.

The APTS has entered a new stage in the bargaining talks that are now beginning at the sectoral table. The union has unveiled demands recently tabled with the CPNSSS on matters involving its members’ conditions of work and practice.

The Front commun presented its demands to the Treasury Board today, at the start of a new round of bargaining talks for the renewal of public-sector collective agreements.

Front commun demands will be presented this fall when they are tabled with the Treasury Board. 

Labour unions are demanding that the government stop obstructing union activities and that it negotiate any measures taken to end the crisis affecting the system.

If we had agreed together in May on a series of measures that would make a difference, public-sector employees in health and social services would be readier to work and less exhausted, and there would be far less risk of breakdowns in service now.

What’s even more alarming is that this situation could happen again, as the government isn’t listening.

The APTS held a press conference this morning with the MNA for the Gaspé, Méganne Perry-Mélançon, where various union representatives and members decried the situation facing medical technologists in the Gaspé.

Now’s the time to innovate and try new ideas. Let’s be ambitious. This is for our children. We need to think big! At this point, what else can we do?

Labour organizations in the health and social services system vigorously condemn the Québec government’s decision forcing workers to dip into their bank of personal leave when they have to self-isolate after someone close to them contracts COVID-19.

In the last round, the government didn’t hesitate to use divisive politics, and in the face of the reforms announced by Minister Christian Dubé, it’s crucial that public-sector workers present a united front.

The APTS is now asking the Legault government to act quickly in implementing all of Ms. Kamel’s recommendations, so that we can be sure that intolerable situations won’t happen again.

The union is calling on Québec’s elected representatives, and on senior managers in health and social services facilities, to design bold policies that will provide Quebecers with high-quality, accessible and forward-looking public services.

Hoping to avoid breaks in services, union spokespersons came together at a press briefing to ask Christian Dubé to renounce unilateral measures, once and for all, and move from words to action.

This reform to improve our seniors’ lives has been eagerly anticipated, and we don’t want to deny its importance. But we have to point out that the plan is incomplete.

The APTS  publicly endorsed the joint declaration issued by the Coalition pour la dignité des aînés at the close of the Estates-General on living conditions for seniors (États généraux sur les conditions de vie des aînés) and was proud to participate alongside the Coalition’s member organizations.

Thousands of women are still waiting for pay equity maintenance payments. Since 2010 or 2016, they’ve worked for wages that are less what they should have earned, and each is entitled to several thousand dollars’ compensation.

The APTS demonstrated today at lunchtime in front of the CHUM research centre to commemorate the fifth year of the centralization of Québec’s medical labs.

Through a pathetic piece of trickery, the minister is in fact maintaining the public health emergency - but only for health and social services employees. That is utterly unacceptable.

With some annoyance, labour organizations in the health and social services system nonetheless welcome the government’s decision to extend, at least to May 14, the various “COVID premiums” that were due to end April 16.

Unions representing employees in the health and social services system are responding with both apprehension and a sense of urgency to Minister Christian Dubé’s new plan to reform the system. Unveiled today, the “Plan to implement the changes needed in health care” is directed towards praiseworthy goals and reflects an open-minded attitude on Dubé’s part.

While recognizing that the Legault government has reinvested in public services, the APTS deplores the fact that finance minister Éric Girard’s budget does not include measures to help attract and retain personnel in a system that has been made extremely fragile by the pandemic.
 

The anger of thousands of APTS members has been fuelled by ever more frequent examples of injustice over the past months.

Minister Dubé has said he’s embarrassed by the inefficiency of the various systems used by his ministry, and health and social service institutions, to pay the amounts owed to our members.

The union is concerned that some of the new measures included in Bill 15 may prove to be inapplicable.

This decision means that biomedical engineering technical coordinators employed by the health and social services system will get a retroactive pay increase of nearly 10%.

By creating a budgetary shield, the government would stabilize funding for the health and social services system and put an end to disruptions caused by going back and forth between budget cuts and reinvestment.

This collective agreement covers the period from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2023.

The APTS is especially worried about the effect that underfunding might have on service accessibility.

The APTS is urging political parties to pledge to follow all the recommendations in coroner Kamel’s report, without waiting for the report to be tabled.

The union coalition urges the government to continue discussions in the same spirit in order to find a way out of the crisis arising from the pandemic and the labour shortage.

The APTS is deeply concerned about the Legault government’s decision to keep employees at work when they test positive for COVID-19 but are asymptomatic.

This decision puts an end to over two years of contract talks that were held to renew the collective agreement of some 60,000 professionals and technicians employed by the health and social services system.

The APTS will closely scrutinize the bill tabled today by Minister Lionel Carmant to amend the Youth Protection Act, which youth workers have been eagerly awaiting.

We’ve gone as far as we can to achieve maximum gains that will improve their working conditions in concrete ways. Overall, it’s a good agreement for professionals and technicians in health and social services.

After suspending its general assemblies and resuming talks with the Treasury Board, the APTS will be presenting an agreement in principle to its delegates at a General Council meeting tomorrow.

Today, APTS members working in youth centres handed MNAs a memo to remind them of their responsibilities in youth protection. 

The APTS strongly supports the conclusions reached by Ombudsperson Marie Rinfret in her final report.

Over 750 delegates attending the Convention of the APTS stopped proceedings at the event in order to demonstrate in the streets of Laval.

Robert Comeau was elected by acclamation as president of the APTS before some 750 delegates at the union’s convention, which took place from November 15 to 18.

The APTS provided the coroner with ten recommendations focusing on prevention, distribution of staff, communications, and psychological support.

Some 200 members of the APTS occupied the Ministry of Health and Social Services building in Québec City to denounce the slow pace of discussions with the Québec government and to support their bargaining team.

The APTS is exasperated with the Treasury Board President’s failure to consider its proposals for attracting professionals and technicians to the health and social services sector and inducing them to stay.

Both Ms. LeBel and the APTS want to reach a settlement, and talks will be resuming shortly with spokespeople from the Treasury Board Secretariat.

The APTS rejects Bill 59, An Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime, and is asking labour minister Jean Boulet to withdraw the proposed legislation.

We’re requesting this last chance meeting to find a way for all APTS members to achieve working conditions that will attract employees to the public system and keep them in it.

The union is very pleased that this event led to a consensus on the urgent need to act in order to attract a greater number of qualified employees to work in labs.

The APTS, which represents the vast majority of youth centre workers, is calling attention once again this year to the detrimental effects of insufficient resources and funding on the entire youth protection system, after reviewing the report by the directors of youth protection.

It’s high time that the valuable role of medical imaging in our healthcare system be recognized.

Minister Dubé’s intentions may be excellent. But as of October 15, thousands of vaccinated employees will be going through hell because of staff shortages.

Vaccination of the greatest possible number of people against COVID-19 is critical to ensure that we move out of the pandemic, and the APTS continues to strongly encourage its members to get the vaccine.

The federal election campaign is in full swing, and the APTS is asking political parties for clear commitments on the union’s priorities.

While the APTS does not object to better financial conditions for youth workers employed in youth centres, it is highly critical of the way the Legault government is exploiting the public health emergency to handle an acute labour shortage in youth protection.

At the APTS General Council meeting, union delegates decided to present the government’s global offer to all members in special general assemblies, without recommending that it be adopted or rejected.

After a 10-year battle, we’ve finally obtained a settlement putting an end to a discriminatory situation for thousands of workers in the health and social services sector.

The APTS has joined over 60 signatories of a statement by the Ligue des droits et libertés, demanding that government lift the public health emergency in Québec.

The proposed settlement does provide some gains, but it doesn’t answer the needs of the health and social services system.

Members of the APTS are stepping up the pressure with two days of strike action on June 21 and 22. Discussions continue after an intensive negotiating blitz that began a little over 72 hours ago.

The government is shooting itself in the foot by refusing to improve working conditions for employees in the public system.

The strike will take place on June 7, 8, 21 and 22 in all of the institutions where the APTS represents employees, unless the government responds favourably to its demands to reach a satisfactory agreement.

Montréal – The APTS is deeply concerned by the lack of personnel with a post-secondary diploma in Québec laboratories.

The final report of the special commission on children’s rights and youth protection, chaired by Régine Laurent, is welcomed with great satisfaction by the APTS

Montréal – The APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) is calling on the government to provide immediate financial recognition for the colossal work being done during the pandemic by the 5,000 people employed in Québec laboratories. Representing these employees, APTS members gathered today at lunchtime before the CHUM (Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal).

The APTS is disappointed, but not surprised, by the 2021-2022 budget tabled by Québec finance minister Éric Girard. This budget does nothing to advance contract talks in the health and social services system, which have been stalled for over 16 months.

The documentary series Au cœur de la DPJ, dealing with Québec’s youth protection system, is coming to an end tonight on the RDI channel. The APTS would like to highlight a crucial aspect of youth workers’ job, which the series unfortunately could not address – the huge number of cases they deal with, and the work overload this entails.

The APTS welcomes Minister Lionel Carmant’s decision to appoint a provincial director of youth protection, and looks forward to cooperating with Ms. Catherine Lemay in order to rapidly implement the “recommendactions” expected from the special commission on the rights of children and youth protection (CSDEPJ) chaired by Régine Laurent.

Montréal  – The APTS does not understand how the health and social services minister, Lionel Carmant, can have approved rent increases amounting to hundreds of dollars in residences with continous assistance (RACs). This abusive and ill-considered decision will have a negative impact on residents’ rehabilitation. 

Montréal – The APTS was shocked to learn from the media that the Legault government is once again turning to the private sector, this time to cope with the shortage of medical imaging and radiology technologists.

Montréal – The APTS expresses its support for youth protection workers across Québec following the death, last week, of two youth protection workers employed by the Centre jeunesse de Montréal.

Montréal – The APTS has sent the health and social services minister, Lionel Carmant, an advisory opinion in the context of consultations about the next interministerial action plan for mental health. The APTS document, which includes nine recommendations, highlights the fact that mental health services have been chronically underfunded, with consequences that have been revealed by the pandemic: Quebecers are forced to look to the private sector to get services within a reasonable length of time.

Montréal – Directives from Québec’s health and social services ministry (MSSS) are being roundly condemned by unions representing employees in the health and social services system. Speaking with a single voice, the presidents of the APTS, FIQ, FIQP, FSQ-CSQ, FSSS-CSN, FP-CSN, CUPE-Quebec and SQEES-FTQ point out that the Ministry is still refusing to provide employees working with patients carrying or suspected of carrying the COVID-19 virus with access to N95 masks – and this despite the fact that the INSPQ, Québec’s public health research institute, has now recognized (months after other public health organizations) that the virus is transmitted by aerosols.

With government negotiators showing little willingness to tackle key issues surrounding work overload and attraction/retention measures for its 60,000 union members, the APTS asked labour minister Jean Boulet to appoint a mediator to help reach an agreement on their working conditions. An initial meeting with the mediator will be held this afternoon.

“Basically, Minister Carmant has just stabbed public sector psychologists in the back. At a time when the public sector is finding it extremely difficult to attract and retain psychologists, the government is turning to psychologists in the private sector and offering them fees equivalent to twice the highest hourly rate in the public sector. In fact, the minister is encouraging the privatization of mental health services. This is utterly outrageous.”

The APTS is in complete agreement with the findings and orientations put forward today by Régine Laurent, president of the CSDEPJ (special commission on the rights of children and youth protection).  

Longueuil – Figures published today by the ISQ (Institut de la statistique du Québec) leave no room for ambiguity: there is a dangerous increase in the wage gap between workers employed in the Québec public service and other workers. For the APTS this impoverishment is unacceptable and must be rapidly corrected.

The APTS acknowledges that Minister Carmant has again taken a step to increase mental health services. However, the union would like to know that the investments announced today will be maintained over the years to come.

The APTS welcomes Minister Carmant’s announcement that an extra $25 million will be provided to boost mental health services for young people. At the same time, the union emphasizes that the minister must go further. 

Given yesterday’s announcement by Régine Laurent that the special commission on the rights of the child and youth protection had to delay publication of its final report, the APTS is calling on the Legault government to pledge right now to implement the commission’s guidelines to improve youth protection services, first-line services and mental health services.

For the APTS, the 2020 annual report of the DPJ (youth protection authorities), released today, confirms the labour shortage afflicting youth services. It also demonstrates, once again, the urgent need for the government to truly address youth workers’ work overload, to review the organization of services, and to find better ways of integrating new employees.

The APTS takes note of the action plan unveiled today by the health and social services minister, Christian Dubé. While the plan includes measures that are to be welcomed, significant caveats are also required.

The APTS vigorously opposes plans to shut down the Centre mère-enfant at the Hôpital du Suroît announced by the CISSSMO (CISSS Montérégie-Ouest).

APTS employees joined their colleagues from the Alliance Interprofessionnelle de Montréal (AIM) in a demonstration in front of the Résidence Angelica to denounce the way this private CHSLD under agreement is handling the pandemic.

The APTS is presenting its proposals to improve youth protection services in hearings today with the special commission on the rights of children and youth protection.

The president of the APTS, Andrée Poirier, will be in a conference call today with the minister of health and social services, Danielle McCann, to denounce the exclusion of professional and technical employees from the bonuses announced by the Legault government yesterday. 

“It’s infuriating and insulting! This government isn’t even offering a hazard premium to all health and social services professionals and technicians.

"I don’t accept that occupational therapists, physiotherapists, psychologists and social workers are being used as cannon fodder in nursing homes hit by outbreaks of COVID-19, without personal protective equipment.  

Despite some inconsistencies in the choices made by Ministers Christian Dubé and Danielle McCann, the APTS can only applaud the government’s openness in granting hazard premiums in recognition of the work performed by health and social services personnel in the fight to stop the COVID-19 pandemic.

"16 days! 16 days that professionals and technicians have been without health equipment or protective materials, issuing SOS calls in every direction to have health and social services institutions apply social distancing measures.

"We’ve run out of patience. It's been almost 12 days since the Legault government declared a health emergency, and still nothing is being done to ensure the safety of our members on the ground.

Members of the APTS-FIQ alliance have reiterated their request for an emergency meeting with the chief negotiator, lawyer Édith Lapointe, to negotiate all the measures needed to support employees in the health and social services system in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Québec City – We are here today representing nearly 500,000 public-service workers, to assure the government of our full co-operation in the face of the unprecedented Corona virus pandemic. Public-sector workers are already on the front lines and are ready to respond to the immense challenges facing us collectively in the coming weeks and perhaps months.

Montréal – While the investments announced by the MSSS for the Douglas Mental Health University Institute were favorably received by Danielle McCann, the APTS Montréal West Island decried the fact that no investments have yet been announced to ensure the safety and security – both physical and psychological – of the professionals and technicians working there under deplorable conditions.

"Unacceptable!" That's how Carolle Dubé, national president of the APTS, described the CIUSSS West-Central Montreal's decision to suspend the president of the local union executive, Léonie Blanchette, after the union filed a complaint denouncing the aggressive behaviour of a management representative.

Several Québec labour and civil society organizations are urging the federal government to implement a real public, universal drug insurance plan. According to them, Ottawa would be making a mistake by wanting to reproduce the hybrid model in Québec, where the existence of private and public insurance plans has caused spiralling costs and profound inequities.

APTS members who work at the Centre jeunesse de Montréal and at Batshaw Youth and Family Centres are perplexed by the 2017-2018 report launched on October 10 on the theme, La cause des enfants tatouée sur le coeur (the cause of children, tattooed on our heart).The statistics obtained by the APTS show a far rougher reality on the ground. Employees are stretched to breaking point and have to contend with high turnover rates, a lack of resources and case files that are piling up.

The day after the president/executive director of the Montréal West Island Integrated University Health and Social Services Centre (IUHSSC) left, interim director Lynne McVey seems to be following her predecessor’s old recipe for dealing with employees: empty rhetoric with no connection to realities on the ground, and unkept promises. That’s the conclusion drawn by the Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS), given the memos issued by Ms. McVey.

"In health and social services, the announced reinvestments fail to cover the massive cutbacks imposed in the past few years," declared APTS President Carolle Dubé. "Patients and personnel have borne the brunt of these cutbacks. Let’s not forget that when the government is shelling out billions of dollars in all directions a few months before the next elections. We would have liked to see targeted budgets for measures to alleviate the distress of health and social services personnel, particularly women, who constitute the majority of public-sector employees. The APTS wants the government to take into account the impact of its budgetary measures on women employees, in future."

Professionals and technicians in health and social services are at their wits’ end. Exhausted. Distressed. At the end of their rope. But who is listening? Their union, the APTS, totally gets it and is taking action, but management is not picking up. The directors of health and social services facilities are busy full-time with a sweeping reorganization of the public system that’s taking a lot of time and energy to set in place, and health minister Barrette isn’t interested in consulting, period. The silence is deafening. “Hello, is anybody there?” Is there anyone in the government who hears our members’ distress? Anyone who witnesses their anger? Anyone who understands that they’re at the end of their tether?