The Federation of Health and Social Services (FSSS), which represents more than 3,000 paramedics, and the government have reached an agreement in principle.
The Minister responsible for Government Management and President of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, and the Minister of Health and Social Services, Christian Dubé, made the announcement Saturday in a press release.
According to the government, this agreement is an improvement in the salary and working conditions of the largest group of ambulances in Quebec, but also to promote the development of accessibility to front-line services for the population.
FSSS, which is affiliated with the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN), has not yet sent a statement about the agreement on Saturday night. The government has indicated it will allow it the time required for FSSS-CSN to present the offer to its members before making the details of the agreement public.
Paramedical workers have had no collective agreement since April 1, 2020. In January, FSSS-CSN requested the intervention of a conciliator in their negotiations, claiming they were in a dead end in terms of its communication with the government.
The strike, which has affected several municipalities since last summer, spread to other unions in February. Pressure tactics include billing forms that paramedics fill out to give to their employers. The public was hardly affected by these strikes, due to the magnitude of the essential services that had to be provided.
Paramedics affiliated with FSSS-CSN also showed up in front of the distribution centers SAQ in Montreal and Quebec, on Feb. 25.
Disputes include salary, shift schedules – which assume a paramedic calls 24 hours a day for seven days – meal times and mental health.
Source: Radio-Canada
