Transfer of Veterans Affairs Canada's Ste. Anne's Hospital to the Quebec Government - Barrette Is Completely Off the Mark

MONTREAL, May 30, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ - Minister Barrette was boasting this morning that everything is going well in the transfer of Veterans Affairs Canada's Ste. Anne's Hospital to CIUSSS de l'Ouest de l'Île.

He said that the transfer has had little effect on employees. "Mr. Barrette is completely off the mark," said Jennifer Genest, union counsellor at the Syndicat québécois des employées et employés de service (FTQ). "The administrative reorganization is not going well at all. Not only are workers earning far less money than they did when the hospital was under federal management, they are being reclassified left, right and centre."

A committee had been set up to determine the workers' job titles in the Quebec health care nomenclature, but workers weren't supposed to be penalized.

"The reclassification, especially of office personnel, has been botched. According to the reclassification committee, far too many employees have been classified at too low a level. This is an additional blow to workers, who are already dealing with less advantageous working conditions than they had when they were working for the federal government. Unfortunately, the employer tells us that reclassification will have to wait several months. This means less money each week for workers to meet their families' needs," laments Genest. This is proof that the hospital's transfer is not going smoothly, regardless of what Barrette says.

Since the administrative organization has completely changed, employees don't know who is responsible for what. It's not easy to deal with everyday problems in a mad house. "Management needs to act more quickly and effectively if it does not want labour relations to deteriorate further," added Genest.

About us

The SQEES-FTQ represents 25 000 members throughout Quebec, most of them in the health and social services sector. It is affiliated with the Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec, the largest union central in Quebec, with more than 600 000 members.

SOURCE Syndicat québécois des employées et employés de service, section locale 298 (FTQ)

Benoit Hamilton, Communications Consultant, SQEES-FTQ, 514-347-9836