Approximately 3,000 members of the FIQ gathered to make their discontent heard.
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In the middle of a negotiation blitz with the government, thousands of members of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) demonstrated on Saturday to voice their discontent, while there is still no agreement with Quebec to the renewal of the collective agreements of the majority of nurses in the public sector.
This event is really an important lever for us, says the president of the FIQ, Julie Bouchard, from the outset.
For several days we have been in a negotiation blitz, so there are still little things to tie up, but these little things are extremely important to us, added Julie Bouchard, before starting the walk between the National Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec until the National Assembly.
We want to have an agreement in principle with this FIQ color which is ultra important, Julie repeated Bouchard.
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Several nurses questioned during the march told Radio-Canada that they were strongly mobilized in this renewal of the collective agreement.
The FIQ represents more than 80,000 nurses, practical nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists working in health establishments in the province.
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Paul St-Pierre Plamondon cancels his speech to the general council of the Bloc Québécois
ELSE ON INFO: Paul St-Pierre Plamondon cancels his speech to the general council of the Bloc québécoisLoading in progressPaul St-Pierre Plamondon cancels his speech to the general council of the Bloc québécois
Paul St-Pierre Plamondon cancels his speech to the general council of the Bloc Québécois
ELSE ON INFO: Paul St-Pierre Plamondon cancels his speech to the general council of the Bloc québécois
This large union was not part of the common inter-union front which represented 420,000 workers in the public health and education sectors, and including the leaders of the CSN, the CSQ, the APTS and the the FTQ finally came to an agreement with François Legault's government after the holidays.
The latest settlement hypotheses were ratified by the members in February.
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There were numerous demonstrators in front of the National Assembly on Saturday.
Asked whether the two parties are close to an agreement, Julie Bouchard did not want to come forward and admitted wanting to remain discreet about the content of the discussions.
However, she mentioned that the implementation of professional-patient safety ratios is a fundamental issue in the discussions.
For several days now, we have been negotiating day, evening and night, intensively, so we hope to reach an agreement in the coming hours, coming days. If we can't do it, it's because we won't have the essential element to allow us to provide quality care to the population.
With The Canadian Press and Philippe L'Heureux
The FIQ invites Minister Dubé to put an end to the negotiations “quickly”
Natasha Kumar has been a reporter on the news desk since 2018. Before that she wrote about young adolescence and family dynamics for Styles and was the legal affairs correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Times Hub, Natasha Kumar worked as a staff writer at the Village Voice and a freelancer for Newsday, The Wall Street Journal, GQ and Mirabella. To get in touch, contact me through my natasha@thetimeshub.in 1-800-268-7116
