Health cutbacks: 1,000 fewer employees in one month

Announcements of job cuts in the health network have multiplied in recent weeks as Quebec seeks to erase a deficit of 1.5 billion in the network.

According to the most recent data from the Ministry of Health, the number of employees in the network increased in mid-December to 348,353, a decrease of 1,045 people compared to the previous month. And it’s not over yet.

In Laval, for example, - learned that the CISSS will meet in the coming days around 150 employees whose positions will be eliminated, in particular attendants, auxiliaries and nurses.

According to our information, the anticipated deficit in Laval will remain around $55 million for the fiscal year ending March 31. But it could have been higher, had it not been for the implementation of a series of measures in recent months, in particular the end to the use of independent labor.

In Chaudière-Appalaches, more than 130 positions could be affected, according to information reported by the unions.

After all the measurements previously carried out […] we must apply new budgetary balance measures by abolishing tenured positionsindicated a spokesperson for the CISSS of Chaudière-Appalaches.

Similar story in Outaouais, where the CISSS has abolished nearly 200 positions.

No less than 40 manager positions will also be abolished in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.

Implementing these measures is proving to be a delicate task for the new Santé Québec agency, which must deliver to the Treasury Board an effort of 1.5 billion by March 2025 while mitigating the impact on patient care.

In a press scrum on Wednesday, the Minister of Health, Christian Dubé, reiterated his confidence in the new agency.

It’s a difficult mission, but it’s not impossible […] It is not for nothing that we found good managers to carry out these missions.

The minister explains that it is necessary to eliminate daytime positions during the week to have more employees in the evenings, nights and weekends.

An orientation confirmed by Yann Langlais Plante, from Santé Québec.

If, for example, we take someone during the day and transfer them to the evening, we must abolish the day shift and open a new evening or night shift. There are positions that are being abolished, but others will be open in other shifts.

3.65% of hours worked

Other spending reduction projects have also been rolled out, since last fall, in the health network.

- revealed in December that Santé Québec had set a target of 3.65% reduction in hours worked.

A spokesperson for Santé Québec also cited the end of the use of independent labor, the reduction of overtime and the abolition of vacant positions.

As observed on the ground by Denis Cloutier, president of the Union of Healthcare Professionals of the Eastern Island of Montreal, affiliated with the FIQ, beyond job cuts, where we are going to get the most money for care is by no longer replacing absences, a phenomenon which is widespread throughout the CIUSSS.

Around twenty nursing positions should be abolished soon.

It’s particularly unfortunate, because at this stage, after the negotiations, we should be deploying sums that have been associated, let’s say, to reduce surgical waiting lists.

For the president of the Federation and social services (FSSS-CSN), Réjean Leclerc, it is impossible to apply austerity measures of 1.5 billion dollars without directly reducing services to the population.

By abolishing hundreds of positions, the CAQ and Santé Québec risk putting users in danger.