Labour tribunal rejects Quebec nurses' pressure tactic of skipping overtime hours
FIQ union's 80,000 members have been without a contract since March 2023
Quebec’s largest nurses' union, the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé du Québec (FIQ), has been blocked from moving forward with its plan to stop working overtime hours later this week, following a ruling by the province's labour tribunal.
The FIQ, representing around 80,000 health-care workers—including nurses, practical nurses, respiratory therapists, and clinical perfusionists—had intended to cease working overtime starting Thursday as a pressure tactic in its ongoing labour dispute with the Legault government. The union has been without a collective agreement since March 2023.
Despite being one of several unions that participated in last fall’s strikes, leading to school closures and scaled-back health services, the FIQ is now the only major union without a new contract.
In its ruling on Monday, the Tribunal administratif du travail stated that the FIQ’s plan to refuse overtime constituted a "concerted action" that could harm the delivery of services to which the public is entitled.
The FIQ countered, arguing that their action would only impact administrative tasks and would harm their employer, not patients. The union emphasized that the tactic would not include mandatory overtime, often referred to in French as TSO (temps supplémentaire obligatoire).
However, the tribunal was not convinced, noting that the FIQ’s call to action regarding overtime hours lacked clarity about whether it applied to TSO or other work hours, which could lead to confusion.
The tribunal also ordered the FIQ to retract the statement it made on August 30, when it initially called on members to refuse overtime.
Earlier this year, the Quebec government and the FIQ reached an agreement in principle, but union members ultimately rejected it. Key issues in the stalled negotiations include staff retention and mobility. The government is pushing for nurses to be able to move between health-care facilities on a voluntary basis to meet system demands, but the FIQ opposes this, arguing that it disregards nurses' expertise and treats them as interchangeable.
