Paramedics reach agreement in principle with Quebec government

The Fédération de la Santé et des Services sociaux (FSSS), representing more than 3,000 paramedics, has reached an agreement in principle with the Quebec government.

Minister responsible for governmental administration and president of the treasury board Sonia LeBel, and Health Minister Christian Dubé made the announcement Saturday in a press release.

According to the government, the agreement will permit “an improvement in the remuneration and work conditions of the most important group of ambulance workers in Quebec, but also improve improve accessibility to front-line services for the population.”

The FSSS, an affiliate of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) had not made an announcement about the agreement, as of Saturday evening. The government indicated it would give “the necessary time to the FSSS-CSN to present the offer to its members before making public the details of the agreement.”

The paramedics had been without a collective agreement since April 1, 2020. In January, the FSS-CSN had requested the intervention mediator in their negotiations, saying they were at “an impasse” in the talks with the government.

The strike, which concerned several municipalities since last summer, spread to other unions in February. Pressure tactics involved billing forms that paramedics fill out and give to their employer. The public had been minimally affected by the strikes, given the vast amount of essential services that must be maintained.

The paramedics affiliated with the FSSS-CSN had also demonstrated in front of the SAQ’s distribution centres in Montreal and Quebec on February 25.

Disputes and negotiations had to do with salaries and schedules that require a paramedic be on call 24 hours a day for seven days, meal times and mental health.