EMILY HSUEH and CALEB NICKERSON
OUTAOUAIS Nov. 11, 2020
A motion imposed by the local health authority means that nurses, nurse attendants and beneficiary attendants at the hospitals in Gatineau and Hull will be forced to work full-time and in any department or facility where they’re needed.
The move was addressed publicly on Nov. 4 via virtual press conference by CISSSO President Josée Filion and Human Resources Director Robert Giard. It comes as a response to the second wave of COVID-19 hitting the region, which has caused a rise in hospitalizations.
CISSSO is imposing forced work through . . .
a ministerial decree signed in March by the former Quebec Health Minister Danielle McCann, which allows for involuntary full-time work to be imposed to respond to the need of COVID-19.
An article by Le Droit, which was published just hours before the press conference took place, detailed the reactions of employees affected by the change. The employees interviewed were distraught and several said they would consider leaving the system as a result. The article also states that the decree allows for employees to be assigned to a different facility and/or different units.
Following the announcement, health care workers from the two hospitals have spoken out against it and took to the streets on Nov. 6 to protest.
While Giard said they would enforce the decrees sparingly, many remain skeptical and worried of the unpredictability of it all.
Speaking in French, Giard said that it was a very difficult decision to make but it was necessary to respond to patient needs.
In contrast to the harsh impositions in the city, CISSSO is taking a softer approach in the Pontiac. According to a local employee with extensive knowledge of the situation, local nurses and support staff are being offered monetary incentives to put in full-time hours and not take time off. The employee requested anonymity since they are not cleared to speak to the media.
They said the bonuses are being offered to all RNs, RNAs, PABs, housekeeping and maintenance staff.
“That’s an incentive to bring [them up to] full-time and for the ones that are full-time, an incentive to come into work and not call in sick,” the source said. “The nurses here have a choice. Most said yes.”
The bonuses are cumulative depending on the number of weeks worked on a full-time schedule, and total around $700 over the course of a month. The source said the payments are retroactive back to September.
“What’s going on in Hull and Gatineau, I’m very sad about it, when I saw it [in] the media and that, they’re not given a choice,” the source continued. “The ones that are part time … they’re not given a choice, they’re automatically bringing them to full-time hours.”
The source said that they believed the health authority might be causing more harm to the system with these impositions than they would be fixing.
“They’re going to be losing nurses, some of them are going to leave,” they said. “They’re very upset, I don’t blame them. They’re already talking about how they’ll go to Ontario, or … burn out, get a doctor’s note … [CISSSO will be] kicking themselves because they’re going to be losing a lot of nurses there.”
In a press conference on Nov. 7, CISSSO’s Assistant Director General France Dumont said that while 261 employees have agreed to the new terms, four have refused.
With files from Mike Athey.
