80,000 Quebec health-care workers kick off 2-day strike, announce another walkout later this month

Tens of thousands of Quebec health-care professionals are striking for the next two days and already promising another 48-hour walkout later this month to "keep putting pressure on the government." 

The interprofessional health-care workers' union, Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ), said 80,000 nurses, respiratory therapists and clinical perfusionists voted 95 per cent in favour of this week's strike in October.

In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, around midnight Wednesday, FIQ president Julie Bouchard announced two more strike days on Nov. 23 and 24. 

"We're capable, we're united, but above all, we're determined to get better working conditions," she said. 

Wednesday's strike comes after 420,000 public sector workers walked off the job Monday as part of a one-day strike to protest the Quebec government's latest contract offer, disrupting schools, health-care facilities and social services. 

Kristina Hoare, the union's vice-president, said that even during a strike 80 per cent of services must be maintained. But some services, like vaccination, may be slowed down.

Regional health boards that are affected by the strike said only those with appointments will be able to get vaccinated while employees strike. Emergency rooms and intensive-care units will not be affected, they said.

As for surgeries, the health boards said they planned in advance to avoid cancellations.

"As an institution, we respect our employees' right to demonstrate. We are working to limit, as much as possible, the impact these strike days could have on our users," said Jean Nicolas Aubé, a spokesperson for the Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux (CIUSSS) du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal.

The union is demanding better work conditions and higher pay. Hoare says the latest offers from the provincial government "really are insulting to health-care workers."

The Coalition Avenir Québec government's latest offer would have had employee's base salary increased between nine and 10.3 per cent over five years, which the union says is not enough.

"We've been talking about it for years that our working conditions are far from ideal. We work long hours with very high patient ratios," said Hoare.

"It's really important that we all stick together and that we fight for better working conditions because, at the end of the day, it gives better care to the population."

If a better offer isn't made, more strike actions are on the table, said Hoare.