Union education and training

As professionals and technicians in health care and social services, you have lost considerable ground in exercising your professional autonomy over the past few years.

You often report that the number of service users in your care or the number of hours you’re able to devote to your cases is no longer within your control. It’s not rare for you to be asked to reduce your client follow-up time so you can deal with as many cases as possible. You are also asked to open as many case files as possible, without checking whether you have time to ensure proper follow up. To manage all that, you sometimes have to neglect your indirect duties (statistics, client case management, etc.) or do undeclared overtime, and the employer then expects higher productivity.

This brief training session presents various steps that can routinely be taken with a view to ensuring greater professional autonomy. We hope you find it helpful. Working together, we can exercise more control over our professional lives.

The problem of work overload afflicting APTS members is hardly recent. A number of employers expect the work to be done without considering the context, the magnitude of the task, or how realistic their demands may be. You end up thinking that it’s your responsibility to accomplish everything you’re asked to do, and this is causing you great distress. How can you reconcile your own needs with those of the employer and the clients?

All your efforts seem to be in vain. But it’s crucial that everyone concerned does their part in taking control of the situation, even though it’s a complex process to defend members in cases involving work overload.

This training session is designed for those of you who have to hold an initial exploratory meeting with a sector that is grappling with work overload. You’ll find a few tips and suggestions for organizing this meeting. The objective is to enable you to identify the specific issues surrounding work overload and find realistic solutions to reduce or eliminate it.

The union movement has played a major role in improving living standards and working conditions imposed by employers. Demands by organized labour have helped drive social advances and have often resulted in social measures and legislation that benefit all members of society. Such gains would have been impossible without mass mobilization. Our collective action is a driving force behind major social change.

Our gains are not carved in stone, however. For the past 30 years, Québec’s system of health and social services has been hit by a succession of neoliberal reforms. These reforms have had a major impact not only on you but also on our healthcare system’s ability to serve Quebecers. In every round of contract talks, the government tries to roll back your gains and win concessions. It takes staying power to protect your gains and enforce your labour rights, day in day out. A few examples that immediately spring to mind are the erosion of your professional autonomy in the past few years, and work overload.

This training highlights union gains that have made our workplaces healthier, safer, fairer and more equitable, and various issues that are still a concern today. It serves as a reminder that solidarity is essential to safeguard and improve your working conditions.

When a problem arises at work, management rights are often invoked to justify the employer’s decision. This is a reality that you often have to contend with. But how much leeway does the employer have? At what point can the employer’s actions be considered an abuse of authority?

The aim of this training session is to demystify management rights and point out their limits.

Congratulations to those of you who are parents and prospective parents! Québec parents who work in the health and social services sector have rights that stem from a number of sources. The combination of benefits from the APTS collective agreement and the Québec Parental Insurance Plan (QPIP) supports your efforts to balance family and work responsibilities.

The aim of this training session is to lay out the facts about employees’ rights when it comes to the birth or adoption of a child, job protection during this period, and income replacement and other benefits under the QPIP and our current collective agreement.

Members have a lot of questions about the steadily rising cost of group insurance. To help address them, this training session explains the concept of group insurance and the process of renewing the terms for insurance premiums. By the end, you’ll understand the factors that determine the cost of premiums and the role played by the APTS in the annual renewal process.  It also offers suggestions for various things you can do individually and collectively to keep the cost of premiums down.

Everyone can speak their mind on social media. Every aspect of our lives can now be shared on the web. But speaking out is not without risk. Calling out an uncomfortable or personal situation could have consequences for your job.  

In this training session, we tackle the concept of duty of loyalty and risky behaviour. The goal is to help you understand the consequences that may ensue from speaking out on the web, so you can avoid possible reprisals by the employer.

Intimate partner violence isn’t confined to the home. It is not a private matter, it is a societal issue. A society can assert that equality between men and women is a core value.

The new legislation that came into force on October 6, 2021 ― the Act to modernize the occupational health and safety regime (including the Act respecting occupational health and safety) ― adds another obligation for management. The employer must take the measures necessary to ensure the protection of a worker exposed to a situation of physical or psychological violence, including spousal, family or sexual violence, in the workplace.

Now that the law has been enacted, our role as a union is to ensure that it’s upheld so that our members are able to work in safe settings.

This training session has two objectives: to raise awareness about intimate partner violence, and inform members of the employer’s rights and obligations and the role that the APTS and members can play to prevent such violence or limit its consequences.

Target group
Provincial elected officers, members of local APTS executives, union counsellors, and members of various local committees.

Duration
Half a day

Main objective

Continue to reflect on and learn more about gender and intersectional analysis, in keeping with the resolution passed at the 2019 convention.

Specific objectives

• Understand the impact of stereotypes and systemic discrimination
• Understand the analytic method used in gender and intersectional analysis
• Be aware of the concepts of gender and intersectional analysis
• Become familiar with ways of applying gender and intersectional analysis in our union work

Target group

Provincial elected officers, members of local APTS executives and local delegates

Duration

2 days

Objectives

Provide a space where participants can discuss and learn more about current union issues. The union training camp helps develop union leaders who will make the APTS a dynamic organization where social and union issues are of central importance. It also helps create ties among those who are active at the local level, with a view to promoting mutual assistance and solidarity.

Target group

Union counsellors, members of the provincial executive, and provincial representatives

Duration

1 day

Objective

Demystify pay equity, pay equity audits and salary relativity, so that you feel more comfortable discussing these issues and answering members’ questions.

Target group

Provincial elected officers and presidents of local executive committees.

Duration

Half a day

Objectives

Enable all participants to understand the strike process and learn more about the proceedings of special general assemblies.

Target group

Members of local APTS executives and the provincial executive, union counsellors, provincial representatives and APTS staffers

Duration

1 day

Objective

Enable participants to become more aware of how they act in the workplace, so they can apply suitable solutions and stop feeling overwhelmed by a sense of urgency.

Target group

Newly elected officers on local executives

Duration

Several days

Main objectives

To help newly elected union officers take up their duties and face the challenges of representing members of their bargaining unit. This training will acquaint them with how our organization works, and with the roles, responsibilities and duties that await them as members of a local APTS executive.

Specific objectives

There are nine parts to this training:

• the union movement
• the APTS Constitution and Guide de pratique
• mobilization work
• APTS sectors and services
• psychological harassment and violence in the workplace
• computer technology
• introduction to labour relations
• gender and intersectional analysis

Target group

Newly elected members of the provincial executive and provincial representatives

Duration

Several days

Main objective

Help new provincial representatives take up their duties and meet the challenges of representing members of APTS bargaining units across the province. This training will acquaint them with the roles, responsibilities and duties entrusted to them in their new role.

Specific objectives

There are 10 parts to this training:

• initiation days
• sitting on the Board of a non-profit organization
• role of a facilitator
• role of a provincial union representative
• APTS sectors
• APTS Constitution
• chairing meetings and rules of order
• strategies for campaigns
• positions of power and influence
• introduction to media relations

Target group

Newly elected union secretaries on local executives

Duration

1 day

Objectives

Help new local union secretaries take up their new duties and learn effective work methods.

Target group

Newly elected treasurers on local executives

Duration

1 day

Objectives

Help new local union treasurers take up their new duties and learn effective work methods.

Target group

Presidents of local executives

Duration

Half a day

Main objective

Equip participants to prepare and run meetings that are dynamic and efficient.

Specific objectives

• Plan and prepare meetings efficiently
• Handle the conduct and proceedings of a meeting effectively
• Identify the duties of a facilitator
• Deal with difficult behaviour

Target group

Convention delegates

Duration

2 hours

Objectives

Address the challenges of speaking in front of a large delegation. There’s no magic formula, but the various tools proposed will help you speak more effectively. The training is designed to whet your appetite for speaking at the mic, and help you feel comfortable and get your message across.

Target group

Convention delegates

Duration

1 day

Main objective

Give delegates a chance to think about issues in greater depth and encourage debate and exchanges at the convention.  

Specific objectives

• Understand and fulfill your role as delegates
• Understand the program for the convention and how it will unfold
• Initiate certain discussions that are relevant to each delegation

Target group

Members of local executives and the provincial executive, union counsellors, provincial representatives

Duration

2 days

Objective

This round of training sessions is specifically tailored to participants’ needs.  

Target group

Presidents of local executives

Duration

Half a day

Main objective

Introduce ideas and tools that will help participants develop their leadership skills.

Specific objectives

• Identify the qualities of an effective leader
• Learn to focus your message and actions around a specific goal
• Identify personality profiles
• Identify pitfalls to avoid

Target group

This training is available on request to all members of local teams (i.e., members of local executives, union counsellors and provincial representatives). 

Duration

1 day

Main objective

Enable participants to implement key strategies and actions to ensure team cohesion and successful decision-making by consensus.

Specific objectives

There are two parts to this activity. The first part presents five dysfunctions of a team according to Patrick Lencioni, and ways to address them. The second outlines a definition of consensus and presents a method to reach consensus-based decisions. Techniques to facilitate the process are covered, and a workshop lets you put these ideas into practice.  

Target group

Presidents of local executives

Duration

1 day

Main objective

Enable chairpersons to understand the basic principles of how meetings work and their specific role.

Specific objectives

• Understand the rules of order
• Understand the structure, proceedings and logistical aspects of meetings

Target group

All members of a local team who help organize mobilization actions

Duration

Half a day

Objectives

This practical training session acquaints participants with a planning tool for mobilization actions. Various types of action are presented to round out your toolbox, and the legal framework for mobilization activities is explained.

Target group

Mobilization officers

Duration

1 day

Main objective

Build genuine local participation.

Specific objectives

• Understand mobilization strategies
• Know how to choose the right mobilization tools and methods

Target group

Provincial elected officers, members of local executives, union counsellors and local delegates

Duration

Half a day

Objective

Explain the process allowing workers to change their union allegiance so that participants can carry out successful union raiding activities.

Target group

Union counsellors, provincial representatives and members of local teams.

Duration

Half a day

Main objective

Provide an opportunity to exchange ideas about the logistical, political and legal aspects of strike action.

Specific objectives

• Discuss employer offers and union demands
• Understand the strike process

Target group

Union counsellors, members of the provincial executive, provincial representatives, and members released from their regular duties to support provincial contract talks.

Duration

Half a day

Objective

Help participants respond to questions about strikes that are frequently asked by APTS members, local executives, members of the provincial executive, provincial representatives, and even the employer.

Target group

Members of the provincial executive, provincial representatives, union counsellors, presidents of local executives

Duration

Half a day

Main objective

Equip members to successfully exercise their right to strike.  

Specific objectives

• Present a strike scenario
• Identify the rights and obligations of the parties involved in a strike
• Draw up strike schedules
• Manage attendance records

Target group

APTS members

Duration

1 day

Objectives

• Prepare participants to demand working conditions that are in keeping with their professional values and enable them to meet service users’ actual needs
• Gain a better understanding of knowledge and skill development for health and social service professionals who are agents of social change.

Target group

Members of local executives, union counsellors and members of the local committee on work overload

Duration

1 day

Main objective

Prepare participants to be able to intervene more effectively in cases of work overload.

Specific objectives

• Develop a better understanding of the nature of work overload
• Equip participants to support members who are dealing with overload
• Develop strategies for preventing work overload

Target group

New occupational health and safety (OHS) officers

Duration

2 days

Main objective

Equip occupational health and safety officers to fulfill their role and carry out their mandates at the local level.

Specific objectives

• Clarify the role of OHS officers at the local and provincial levels
• Explain the historical development of OHS in Québec to clarify the context in which local OHS officers carry out their mandates
• Identify the various OHS actors and their respective missions
• Present the action plans and general guidelines of the main parties involved in occupational health and safety
• Discuss APTS action priorities and demands in the area of prevention
• Explain the OHS legislative framework and established legal measures
• Define the role and function of joint health and safety committees (CPSST) in the health and social service sector
• Identify workplace risks and hazards in various settings
• Present the concepts of accident prevention (including safety inspections), investigation and analysis

Target group

Members of local executives and local delegates with front-line labour relations responsibilities

Duration

3 days

Objective

Equip participants with the knowledge they need to provide labour relations support and ensure effective, good quality service to members.