Medical imaging at risk for service breaks in the Outaouais region | The APTS obtains an expansion of premiums aiming for parity with Ontario
June 12 2024
Longueuil – While the exodus of medical imaging personnel to Ontario remains a glaring problem, the APTS (Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux) announces that it has reached an agreement with the Government of Québec to expand special measures to achieve a degree of parity in overall remuneration with Ontario. The premiums will now be given to medical imaging personnel in the Papineau and Maniwaki hospitals.
“The crisis that is shaking our public system is of unprecedented gravity in Outaouais and calls for extraordinary measures,” said Robert Comeau, APTS president. “This agreement is another step in the right direction, but there’s still a long way to go. The government responded to our demands to expand these premiums to more sectors, and we acknowledge that, but it has to stop just putting out fires and instead tackle the labour shortage in medical imaging globally. We need proper workforce planning to find solutions to correct the situation in the long term.”
The agreement establishes incentives to reach a degree of parity with Ontario in terms of overall remuneration. It includes a 10% pay increase during the summer and a yearly lump sum – $22,000 for employees at Papineau Hospital and $18,000 for employees at Maniwaki Hospital – for people who agree to work an additional 2.5 hours per week. These measures will be offered for the next two years to medical imaging professionals and technicians in these hospitals.
“The expansion of these measures is meant to promote the retention of essential expertise in medical imaging in the Papineau and Maniwaki hospitals,” said Christine Prégent, APTS provincial representative for the Outaouais. “We welcome that. But we need to keep working to improve working and practice conditions, particularly in terms of work schedules. We need to motivate technicians to keep delivering services at their institutions. The public and our members in the Outaouais can count on us to continue working with the government to solve the labour shortage crisis in our region.
The APTS continues to be deeply concerned by the labour shortage in the Shawville and Wakefield hospitals, as well as about services on evening and night shifts, which are particularly affected by staff shortages.
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, including over 2,700 members in the Outaouais. Our members provide a wide range of services for all Quebecers, including diagnostic, rehabilitation, nutrition, psychosocial intervention, clinical support, and prevention services.
