COVID-19 | The APTS-FIQ alliance will be right there to negotiate all measures

March 18, 2020

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.

At the meeting with all the unions on March 15, Premier Legault seemed willing to explore all possible solutions for health and social services personnel as a whole.

Exceptional circumstances

Since the government declared COVID-19 a health emergency, the situation has been evolving day by day. Extraordinary demands will be placed on the province’s public finances, and the APTSFIQ alliance is ready to work closely with the chief negotiator in this context. “We have to readjust and adapt quickly to the situation, just like our members who’ve answered the government’s call. The sustained effort that will be required of these employees in the coming weeks and months will need to be recognized,” declared the presidents of the APTS and the FIQ, Andrée Poirier and Nancy Bédard.

Protecting employees in the health and social services system

The APTS-FIQ alliance will raise all the concerns expressed by their members, such as employees’ safety and the availability of equipment. “The pandemic reveals the state of our health and social services system. It not only demonstrates the commitment of our members; it also calls for everyone to assume their share of responsibility. The government must act responsibly, as it has done since the pandemic was declared, and provide winning conditions to give our members some breathing room,” added Andrée Poirier and Nancy Bédard.

In addition, the APTS-FIQ alliance is calling for employees who are pregnant and those whose immune systems are compromised to be withdrawn from any position in which they may come into contact with the virus. This measure should not be limited to the emergency room and the front line.

About the APTS and the FIQ
The APTS represents 55,000 professionals and technicians who provide a range of services throughout the public health and social services sector: diagnostic services, rehabilitation, nutrition, psychosocial intervention, clinical support and prevention services. The FIQ, for its part, represents 76,000 nurses, licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists working in healthcare facilities across Québec.