Posts Tagged ‘UNION ISSUES’
Gearing up for a hectic fall
The APTS is set for a busy fall. With the fourth wave, professionals and technicians will once again come under excessive pressure, and our health and social services system will be forced to do a major juggling act just to maintain non-COVID-related care and services. As well, our union will be holding special general assemblies to present you with the governmentâs global offer that we received at the beginning of the summer.
Read MoreâProfessionalsâ and union action: chalk and cheese?
Professionals and union action are commonly held to be incompatible. This deeply entrenched piece of conventional wisdom was challenged by Louise Boivin, professor at the Industrial Relations Department of the UQO (Université du Québec en Outaouais), at Comprendre pour choisir, the second edition of the APTS Carrefour des idées.
Read MoreInvesting in womenâs work
I canât predict the outcome of these contract talks to renew our membersâ collective agreement, but I can tell you right now that the government has underestimated a key factor in the equation. It doesnât fully appreciate the need to invest in attracting and retaining qualified personnel in its solutions to the blatant problems plaguing the health and social services sector. This is a serious miscalculation.
Read MoreWithdrawal of services and reassigned workers: we need to be vigilant
APTS members began to experience severe disruption of their professional practice in April 2020 when services were withdrawn and employees reassigned throughout the health and social services system. By the time the second wave of the pandemic was declared on September 21, the APTS knew it needed a formal strategy to lessen the impact of a second round of service interruptions and staff reassignments.
Read MorePrivatizing health care under cover of COVID-19
Our health and social services system is at a crossroads. Workers are exhausted, public services are eroding and elderly citizens have been all but abandoned. None of this is new.
Read MoreAn impassioned activist
The woman we elected president of the APTS at our Convention last November is very determined to boost our unionâs visibility and influence, and is proud to do so. âI want the APTS to have the means to realize our goals, fully engage in public debates and take the initiative without hesitation. We have to create ties with other organizations and join forces to serve our common causes,â AndrĂ©e Poirier declared.
Read MoreNew group insurance rates in 2019
At the November General Council (November 13-14-15), the delegation adopted the new rates applicable on January 1, 2019 for the various group insurance plans. Our groupâs better claims history last year, compared to the previous year, in large part explains these new rates. There were fewer claims than expected and the premiums were sufficient to cover them.
Read MoreIn the wake of cannabis becoming legal
Most of the addictions workers we informally consulted in the days after cannabis was legalized said they didnât expect their work to significantly change after October 17.
Read MoreSolutions to workforce shortages finally recognized as urgent
Just as the austerity period is about to end, the MSSS seems be discovering the magnitude of labour shortages in public health and social services. Revelation! Maybe the health ministry will also see the relevance of the unionsâ proposals.
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