Some part-time nurses in Montreal quitting as forced workload increase takes effect

Anaïs Desautels thought she had found the perfect balance in her life.

After working as a full-time nurse for three years, she burned out during the first wave of COVID-19.

When she returned to work in the intensive care unit at the Montreal General Hospital, she went down to three days a week.

Desautels had taken on another part-time job in a nail salon, and she felt the two jobs complemented each other.

"I had really found the right balance: a job that was fun and a job that makes me feel like I make a difference in the lives of others," she told CBC in an interview.

Now that balance is gone.  

Desautels handed in her notice at the General earlier this month, after she was told she would have to increase her workload if she wanted to stay on.

It's because of a clause in the collective agreement signed between her union, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), and the government last fall that requires all part-time nurses in the public system to work at least 14 shifts over a 28-day period.  

For many, that represents a doubling of their current workload.

There are a few exceptions, for nurses over 55 for example, but none of them apply to Desautels. The change meant she would have to give up her job at the nail salon.

She tried to find alternatives, but the hospital's human resources department said its hands were tied by the collective agreement.

"I felt pissed," she said. "I felt I was losing control over what I wanted to do in life."

Desautels finally decided to leave nursing altogether so she could continue her work at the nail salon, which she described as "a passion."

CBC spoke to her on the day of her last shift at the hospital.