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Longueuil  – The APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) 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. 

“Our negotiating process determines the working conditions of close to 600,000 people employed to serve Quebecers,” said APTS president Robert Comeau. “We’ve always taken a constructive approach and will continue to do so. We’re reaching out to the government once again, hoping it will be receptive to union proposals to improve the bill for the benefit of our members and all Quebecers.”

The APTS believes that in order for the reform to work, in-depth consultations are needed to establish a balanced framework that will reflect the reality of public services as they are today. It hopes to present its analyses and recommendations at a parliamentary committee. 

Among the bill’s more significant aspects is the government’s intention to move a number of locally negotiated matters, such as decisions about schedules, up to the provincial level. 

“The aim to further centralize bargaining mechanisms raises important issues,” said Comeau. “This recentring may fail to reflect the variety of realities on the ground. That could make it more difficult to find solutions adapted to the needs of employees in the public system, or to improve the quality of services and make them more accessible. What’s good for Centre-Sud in Montréal may not be good for Sept-Îles. Being able to reach special agreements will be crucial.” 

Bill 100 also paves the way for an even greater concentration of bargaining power in the hands of the Treasury Board president and the ministers responsible for public services, leading to the disappearance of management bargaining committees.

Job classes in health and social services: a missed opportunity
The APTS also notes the government’s choice to walk back a decision to reorganize job classes imposed last year by health minister Christian Dubé. Rather than merely reverting to the status quo – itself imposed in 2005 by Bill 30 and challenged by labour organizations at the time – the APTS would have preferred to see the government undertake a consultation process that would make it possible to create groups of occupations based on communities of interest, as set out in the Labour Code.

Given this about-face, the APTS argues that the government will have to show a genuine willingness to fully acknowledge the interests of a wide range of occupations in the health and social services system, including some 110 occupations represented by the APTS. The government needs to take their interests into account and adapt their working conditions to their actual reality when public sector collective agreements are renewed.

The APTS will carefully analyze the provisions of Bill 100 and their impact on the negotiating process and the health and social services system. It intends to play its full part in upcoming discussions. 

The APTS
The APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) represents more than 65,000 members who play a key role in ensuring that health and social services institutions run smoothly. Our members provide a wide range of services for all Quebecers, including diagnostic, rehabilitation, nutrition, psychosocial intervention, clinical support, and prevention services.