This article written in french by Corinne Prince was automatically translated using AI
From October 2024 to May 5, at least 447 positions were eliminated at the Laval Integrated Health and Social Services Center (CISSS).
It is difficult to determine the exact number of abolished positions when the Communications Department and the unions associated with the CISSS have different data.
This situation may reflect the lack of transparency denounced by health sector employees in connection with the Dubé Reform, which led to the creation of Santé Québec and began operations less than a year ago.
The CISSS is clear: as of May 5, 247 permanent positions had been eliminated—17 management positions, 175 unionized and professional positions, and 55 nursing positions. Added to this are more than 200 temporary assignments or vacant positions that were cut.
By mid-March, the Laval CISSS Workers’ Union (STTCISSS–CSN) had already recorded nearly 440 abolished positions. The union, which has about 5,500 members, now estimates that at least 500 positions affiliated with it have been cut since June 2024.
The Laval Nurses, Respiratory Therapists and Licensed Practical Nurses Union (SIIIAL–CSQ) agrees with management regarding the 55 positions it is concerned with.
Nearly half of all positions abolished at the CISSS de Laval have reportedly been converted into part-time positions.
In addition to restructuring work organization and team composition and reducing the number of hours worked by 3%, the CISSS has also cut back on overtime, eliminated the use of independent labor, and terminated private consultant contracts in order to meet the $55.8 million optimization target set by Santé Québec on November 28, 2024.
“We are in the process of implementing all of this, and we’re doing it with the utmost respect and responsibility towards our people,” said Jeanne-Évelyne Turgeon, CEO of the CISSS de Laval, in a video recorded for employees in March. “We know that human beings are being affected. These are major disruptions experienced by our teams. We must approach this with respect and care, and that is our goal in order to continue providing care and services to the people of Laval.”
According to the CISSS, the only department spared from this major restructuring so far is Youth Protection Services (DPJ).
Respect for seniority
The STTCISSS laments the loss of several full-time positions it had advocated for over the years—particularly the way in which the cuts were carried out.
According to the union, cuts were announced on December 2 and 20, 2024, January 16, and again on March 12 and 25—“well after the nearly 400 ‘surplus’ positions and assignments that had already been eliminated before December.”
Because seniority applied, newer employees were the first to be let go, which gave them priority in selecting available positions over colleagues whose jobs were eliminated several months later.
“Yes, they ask you to optimize, reorganize, and cut. So look at your entire structure and decide where you want to cut,” says Nathalie Bourque, president of the STTCISSS. “Do it as a one-shot deal. Then go ahead with the abolitions, replacements, and all the mess that comes with it. It’s a process, but they’re stretching it out over weeks, even months!”
According to Isabelle Miller, Communications Advisor for the CISSS de Laval, the announcements occurred in two waves: the first in October 2024 and the second in January, at Santé Québec’s request. No further announcements were made, as the requested targets had been reached.
Affected employees were reportedly met individually by a manager, who offered them a vacant position, and “no one lost their job.”
According to the STTCISSS, 75% of the eliminated positions in its job categories were orderlies (préposé.e.s aux bénéficiaires)—whose duties now must be assumed by other healthcare professionals to compensate for the shortage.
Most of the affected workers were relatively new to the healthcare network, many having joined due to financial incentives offered during the COVID-19 pandemic or during the hiring of independent labor.
“The government has been a mess from the start,” laments the STTCISSS president. “They dangled all this in front of people and now they’re dropping them all! They’re also letting down those who’ve been here for ages. […] It’s disgusting.”
Neither Santé Québec nor the CISSS de Laval agreed to comment on the inconsistency denounced by the union.
From the perspective of the SIIIAL–CSQ, what is most criticized is the overwork of teams and the impact on services to the population.
For Déreck Cyr, president of the union, it’s clear that the abolition of hundreds of vacant positions—which had been deemed essential, hence why they were posted—has a major impact on staff and the quality of care they can provide.
“This was Minister Dubé’s solution during negotiations—saying, ‘If everyone is full-time, we won’t have staff shortages,’” he recalls. “Now he’s walked that back, saying ‘We don’t need that anymore because we have too many people during the week, but not enough on weekends.’ For us, it’s clear that there are never too many people to say someone has nothing to do. […] It didn’t even cost the employer more to have full-time staff [because of unit transfers and authorized leaves]. So, it’s truly absurd. This was a real shock for the workers.”
Future waves?
The unions are dealing with employees who are worried about losing their jobs and working in a climate of insecurity, all while trying to ensure public well-being.
“There’s also uncertainty about whether there will be a third or fourth wave [of cuts],” reports Déreck Cyr. “There’s a lot of talk on the floor… It’s not a healthy work environment.”
The $55.8 million optimization target was requested by Santé Québec for the CISSS de Laval for the 2024–2025 fiscal year, a period during which “major efforts were required to regain budgetary balance.”
“What we’re being asked to do is be more financially efficient while maintaining the same level of service to the population,” summarizes Isabelle Miller. “No one enjoyed the period we went through. These were not easy times… it was a major reorganization and no one was happy about it. These are efforts we were asked to make, we had no choice, and we made them… hoping the next wave won’t be as intense.”
Santé Québec confirms that the budget optimization target for the current year (2025–2026) is $28 million for Laval. The CISSS’s savings plan has not yet been finalized.
According to the STTCISSS, all abolition notices are currently on hold until the end of September, because Santé Québec allegedly “did not follow its own agreement made on May 31 concerning the recognition of seniority.”
“Everything is suspended because some people would not have been cut if seniority had been applied at the time stated in the agreement,” says Nathalie Bourque. “We don’t know what will happen to those whose process is already complete. Will it stay as is, or will things need to be undone? Of course, they’ll resume the wave of cuts afterward. How big or how intense? We don’t know.”
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