Paramedics refuse overtime in 7 Quebec regions starting Tuesday
Unions escalate pressure in pay dispute, affecting the Laurentians, Lanaudière, Trois-Rivières, Portneuf, the National Capital Region, Charlevoix, and the Middle and Lower North Shore.
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Paramedics affiliated with the CSN union federation will refuse to work overtime starting Tuesday, June 23, across seven regions of Quebec in an escalating labour dispute over compensation.
The affected regions are the Southern Laurentians and Lanaudière, Greater Trois-Rivières, Portneuf, the National Capital Region, Charlevoix, and the Middle and Lower North Shore. The Côte-Nord region, already hard-hit by staffing shortages, is expected to face the most severe impact.
The Federation of Health and Social Services, affiliated with the CSN, says this refusal to work overtime is the first stage of escalated pressure tactics and could spread to other regions in the future. As an additional tactic, paramedics will also refuse to work for private staffing agencies.
These paramedics have been on indefinite strike for several months, though the strike has gone largely unnoticed by the public because most of their duties are deemed essential services. Their collective bargaining agreement expired on March 31, 2023. Intensive negotiations over four days in early June failed to reach agreement, with compensation remaining the core issue.
Paramedics in Montréal and Laval are represented by unions at Urgences-santé, along with several regional ambulance companies and cooperatives, though other paramedics belong to different labour unions.