Lia Levesque, The Canadian Press

MONTREAL — National Institutes of Public Health (INSPQ) professionals began a three-day strike Monday morning. In connection with this, they demonstrated in Montreal and Quebec in front of the National Assembly.

There are 400 professionals: notably scientific advisors, information officers and computer analysts who are members of a union of the Centrale des unions du Québec (CSQ).

They chose to demonstrate in front of the National Assembly to be heard not only by the INSPQ but also by ministers and all MPs, Étienne Pigeon, president of Quebec’s Union of Public Health Professionals, said in an interview on Monday.

“I invite decision-makers, people from the opposition parties, to support us if they want to try to advance our cause. It is by no means our intention that the industrial action should continue. But the people, the INSPQ professionals, have had enough. We were good kids during the pandemic. Now is the time to be heard and then get the recognition we deserve,” Mr. Pigeon said.

The main point of contention is the remuneration.

Mr. Pigeon says its members lag about 15% behind their peers at the National Institute for Excellence in Health and Social Services (INESSS), who have similar roles.

The collective bargaining agreement has expired since March 31, 2020, as was the case for all government employees before their employment contracts were extended to March 2023 with the following salary increases. Mr. Pigeon reports that his members “haven’t had any of it” since then.

The negotiations have not failed; other sessions will be on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, Mr. Pigeon noted.

As this is the healthcare sector, essential services will be provided during the strike so as not to jeopardize the safety and health of the population. “We’re talking about 10 to 15 people who have been identified and have jobs that can be a bit more sensitive in such circumstances,” Mr. Pigeon explained.

Your colleagues from the Quebec Public Health Laboratory, also members of a CSQ union, have already given themselves a strike mandate. However, unlike those of the INSPQ, they have not yet exercised it.

treasury

Asked for comment, the Treasury Board said that “as in the case of other organizations outside the public sector,” it “has given the INSPQ a negotiating mandate to enable it to negotiate fair agreements with all of its employees,” the spokesman said of the Secretariat of the Treasury Board, Anne-Hélène Couturier.

The INSPQ reached an agreement in principle with another union, the Alliance of Professional and Technical Personnel in Health and Social Services (APTS), last June. “We hope that within a reasonable time he will do the same with the other unions that represent his employees,” she added.

“Although the Treasury Board Secretariat is not present at the negotiating tables, we are following the progress of the talks very closely,” she assured.