Contract talks | APTS delegates to consider an agreement in principle at a General Council

November 25, 2021

Québec City – After suspending its general assemblies and resuming talks with the Treasury Board, the APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) will be presenting an agreement in principle to its delegates at a General Council meeting tomorrow.

“Under the circumstances, we think we’ve gone as far as we can in the collective bargaining process to improve the working conditions of our 60,000 members,” says APTS president Robert Comeau. “Their solidarity and mobilization helped our bargaining team make concrete gains to advance their working conditions.”

These gains include new premiums in the mental health sector and youth protection. Work has also been undertaken to address workload issues for professional and technical employees in health and social services, and these efforts will be pursued.

To be continued

Some additional gains have been achieved in relation to the last government proposal. However, the APTS is not completely satisfied with the outcome of contract talks. A number of sectors that are having problems attracting and retaining personnel have simply been ignored by the government.

“Since the beginning of these bargaining talks, the APTS has been committed to achieving working conditions that reflect the expertise of our professionals and technicians, 86% of whom are women,” says Comeau. “That’s what is needed to deal with the labour shortage and work overload. The proposed agreement certainly includes gains, but we’re still facing enormous challenges. The Legault government will have to sit down with the APTS if it really wants to rebuild the health and social services system.”

The agreement in principle signals the end of current contract talks, and the APTS is now turning its attention to the next round. The first step is to carry out essential work so that APTS members can be consulted.

The terms of the proposed agreement in principle will be presented to APTS delegates at a General Council on November 26, 2021. The Council will decide if it wants to endorse the agreement, and if it should be submitted to members’ vote at special general assemblies. Until then, the APTS will not be providing further details about the content of the proposed agreement.

The APTS

The APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) represents a total of 60,000 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 the population as a whole, including diagnostic, rehabilitation, nutrition, psychosocial intervention, clinical support, and prevention services.