A 17.4% pay increase 'accessible' to paramedics, says Quebec
Quebec says that a 17.4 per cent pay increase is 'accessible in exchange for concessions' for paramedics who have been without a collective agreement for two years.
Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel responded the day after some 3,300 paramedics, who are members of unions affiliated with the CSN, went on strike.
The strike is primarily in the form of administrative pressure tactics, such as forms submitted to the employer, and will have little impact on the population.
Thirty-five notices of indefinite strike action have been issued in several cities across Quebec by unions affiliated with the CSN's health and social services federation (FSSS).
They hope to put pressure on the Treasury Board to reach an agreement on a new collective agreement. Salary is one of the main issues in dispute.
In a news release on Sunday, FSSS-CSN Vice-President Lucie Longchamp questioned why, two years after the agreements expired, the government 'is still unable to bring to the bargaining table the same wage increases it negotiated with all its other employee groups.'
On Monday morning, LeBel stated that 'having a bargaining mandate does not mean that the government has to accept all union demands.'
'It was clearly stated at the table that 17.4 per cent was achievable in exchange for concessions — as was the case for all the other unions that settled,' she said on social media platform X.
The minister's office clarified that 'ambulance workers' unions will be treated fairly in line with what 99 per cent of public and parapublic sector employees have accepted so far.'
'The agreements reached, which provide for a 17.4 per cent wage increase, were made in exchange for concessions that will improve services to the public,' LeBel's office said in a statement sent to The Canadian Press.
It mentioned that several negotiation dates are scheduled in the coming weeks and invited the unions 'to continue discussions at the table.'
'It is possible to reach a quick settlement,' it said.
Other issues in dispute include compliance with work schedules and improvements to the pension plan, according to the CSN.
Paramedics will also go on a rotating strike, with management personnel replacing them at their posts.
The paramedics' pressure tactics are particularly affecting the regions of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, metropolitan Montreal, the Laurentians, Lanaudière, Montérégie, Estrie, Mauricie, the greater Quebec City area (including Charlevoix), Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, North Shore, and Lower St. Lawrence.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 7, 2025.
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