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Longueuil – 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?

That’s why the APTS is launching the campaign "Hello? Anybody there?" to focus the spotlight on the distress experienced by social workers, specialized educators, physiotherapists, medical technologists and other personnel who have to contend with work overload and increasingly complex cases, in a context of reorganization/disorganization whose negative repercussions are far from over, despite Minister Barrette’s claims. "No, the reform isn’t over, Mr. Barrette. Maybe for you it’s over, but not for our members," declared Carolle Dubé, President of the APTS. "No fewer than six professionals and technicians out of ten are in distress. Mr. Minister, it’s time to take concrete steps to support those who are helping the public."

In current contract talks to negotiate local provisions, the APTS is proposing just that: tangible measures to improve its members’ working conditions. "Our demands are for employers to provide conditions of professional practice that respect employees’ capacity to take on and add new cases to their caseload. We are also demanding respect for our members’ physical integrity and psychological well-being. This can’t go on any longer,” warned the union president. “Our members are going to crack under the pressure. They can’t keep going at this frenetic pace.”

We are also demanding greater professional autonomy for our members. "It’s not normal for personnel to constantly have to choose between observing their code of professional conduct and following the often unrealistic orders of their employer or the MSSS. Professionals who refuse to comply with a directive or a direct order from a person in authority have to be protected if the directive is in conflict with their code of professional conduct. Our members are the ones on the front line on the ground, day in day out, "concluded Carolle Dubé. “They need a chance to catch their breath."

In the coming weeks, the APTS will be challenging Minister Barrette, MNAs, political parties and professional orders to come up with solutions together. To find out all about the campaign and see the first video clip, go to http://alloyaquelquun.com.

The APTS

With its 52,000 members, the APTS is an indispensable public-sector union in health and social services. It represents professionals and technicians in over a hundred job titles, in diagnostic services, rehabilitation, nutrition, psychosocial intervention, clinical support and prevention services.