(Montreal) Workers in the health and social services network gathered Saturday afternoon in downtown Montreal to denounce what they refer to as the chronic devaluation of traditionally female trades.
Posted on May 22, 2021 at 5:05 p.m.
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These union members, represented by the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ) and the Alliance du personnel des personnel des professionals et techniques de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS), are calling for a catch-up of 7.4% in the context of the negotiations. public sector.
The FIQ has already reached a partial agreement on working conditions, but not on the remuneration of its some 76,000 nurses, nursing assistants, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists. It has allied itself on this front with the APTS, which for its part represents nearly 60,000 members.
The two unions, made up of more than 85% of women, are leading a campaign called “Paid au feminine, it’s over! ” since one month.
Participants in Saturday’s protest were invited to don a jacket and tie and hard hats to highlight the contrast between their wages and those in predominantly male sectors.
“We are here today to tell the government that the time for ‘vocation’ is over,” chanted FIQ President Nancy Bédard.
“You’ve been without an employment contract for more than a year, [que vous avez] passed through three waves of this pandemic. The yard is full! She added, addressing the crowd.
Mme Bédard did not fail to point out that the Caquist government does not say that it is “at the end of Quebecers’ ability to pay” when it comes to investing in infrastructure projects such as the third link.
The APTS recently announced the first strikes in the health and social services sector. Its members, who include social workers, nutritionists, psychologists, laboratory and radiology technicians, plan to go out on June 7 and 8, as well as June 21 and 22.
“Replacing salary increases with lump sums, it does not work”, launched the vice-president of the APTS, Benoit Audet, on Saturday, referring to the latest government offer.
This provides for 5% over three years, with a possible increase of 1% provided that inflation exceeds this threshold and that the growth expected by the government is at the rendezvous. Quebec is adding non-recurring lump sums to it and thus characterizes its offer as an 8% increase.
At a press conference earlier this month, the Prime Minister insisted that differentiated offers target sectors where labor shortages are particularly acute.
“It’s the opposite,” François Legault said, reacting to accusations of sexism.
“We look at teachers, nurses and beneficiary attendants, these are three groups that are predominantly women. It means that we are proposing bigger salary increases for women, ”he said.
According to the Institut de la statistique du Québec, in 2020, provincial government employees earned on average 16.2% less than the rest of Québec employees, that is to say those in the private sector, in companies of State and other levels of government. In terms of total compensation, which also takes into account social benefits, they still show a delay of 9.2%.
However, the pay gap that persists between men and women can be explained in part by the concentration of the latter in fields of activity such as health. The female attendance rate is 61.1% in the entire public sector.
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