Ms. LeBel, who is also the minister in charge of government administration, is helping negotiate collective agreements for some 600,000 government employees that expire on March 31.
The minister is looking for a winning combination in the government’s priority sectors, namely education and health. We have a teacher shortage that we can’t solve tomorrow morning, she said on Sunday when she appeared on Everyone’s Talking About It.
“If I want solutions for the next school year in September, I have no time to lose to start looking for solutions. »
— A quote from Sonia LeBel, President of the Treasury Board
She suggests reorganizing the work of the educators so that they can also support the teachers in the classroom.
This proposal is already being piloted in 100 Quebec schools and has been well received. Eventually, the measure is to be implemented on a larger scale.
Ms. LeBel also wants to find solutions to improve working conditions in hospitals. Sommer said it was very difficult for nurses in the healthcare system.
In the employer’s latest offer, the government says it has agreed to two demands from the unions: the abolition of compulsory overtime and the avoidance of the use of recruitment agencies as much as possible.
In return, the government requires them to guarantee availability in shifts that are difficult to fill, such as nights or public holidays.
discussion forums
Minister LeBel denies trying to circumvent the negotiation process with the public sector by setting up “discussion forums”.
She had invited unions to these forums to speed up negotiations.
The idea of negotiating parallel to the usual tables had displeased the union representatives, who refused to go there.
The Treasury Board President wanted to clear up some gray areas around the forums on the set of Everybody Talking.
“The forums are places of negotiation. We are still sitting with the government, the Treasury Secretary, the Health Secretary and the Education Secretary. It’s not outside of the negotiations, it’s part of it. »
— A quote from Sonia LeBel, President of the Treasury Board
Negotiations in the public sector are held at around 250 tables, says the minister. In health and education alone, 40 tables bring union representatives and employers’ party together, we end up in the same place. There will be a single solution in all cases, so I’ll say why we can’t sit together, she explained.
Nevertheless, the minister was confident that an agreement could be reached before the collective agreements expired. While we argue about the structure, there are Quebecers waiting for services, she pleads.