St. Valentine's Day a paid union holiday
Yup....I'm not making this up.
Several health care facilities were closed to out-patients including;
* CSSS de Drummond
* CSSS Thérèse-de-Blainville
* Hôpital Maisonneuve-Rosemont
* CSSS Pierre-Boucher
* CSSS de St-Jérôme
* CSSS d'Arthabaska-et-de-l'Érable
* Centre de santé Thérèse-de-Blainville
...plus a bunch of CLSCs as well.
Certain hospitals were working with a reduced staff including Saint-Jérôme, St-Eustache, Maisonneuve-Rosemont, Pierre-Boucher and others.
In the St-Jérôme hospital, in an effort to save embarrassment, management decided to re-baptize the holiday as "Winter Break"
Some unionized health facilities also celebrate "Woman's Day." Unionized employees in the health care field enjoy 13 paid holidays as compared to the 8 statutory holidays Quebec workers are afforded by government decree.
Now that I've got you shaking your head in disbelief, let's continue;
Female University employees awarded huge pay equity settlement.
Longtime female employees of several French language universities hit pay dirt with the announcement that a settlement has been reached between the union and the schools in relation to the pay-equity legislation that the government passed many years ago.
The settlement is retro-active back to 2001 and so for longtime employees it's a bonanza. For a telephone receptionist who was working steadily since 2001, it means close to a $20,000 settlement and for an executive secretary it means closer to $60,000. Not bad! LINK{Fr}
White collar office workers refuse to water their plants
White-collar employees of the City of Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac are refusing to water the plants in their office forcing the municipality to pay a private company to do so. "I wasn't hired to water plants. We didn't study for it and it's not related to our work. If we are asked to sweep the floor, even if it doesn't take much time, it's not our job" said the union representative.
The small municipality was forced to hire a private contractor to come and do the plant watering. LINK{FR}
Union boss accused of ties to the mob
Bosses of the much-maligned CSN Construction union are red faced over revelations that the head of a union local is a well connected criminal.
Longtime female employees of several French language universities hit pay dirt with the announcement that a settlement has been reached between the union and the schools in relation to the pay-equity legislation that the government passed many years ago.
The settlement is retro-active back to 2001 and so for longtime employees it's a bonanza. For a telephone receptionist who was working steadily since 2001, it means close to a $20,000 settlement and for an executive secretary it means closer to $60,000. Not bad! LINK{Fr}
White collar office workers refuse to water their plantsWhite-collar employees of the City of Sainte-Marthe-sur-le-Lac are refusing to water the plants in their office forcing the municipality to pay a private company to do so. "I wasn't hired to water plants. We didn't study for it and it's not related to our work. If we are asked to sweep the floor, even if it doesn't take much time, it's not our job" said the union representative.
The small municipality was forced to hire a private contractor to come and do the plant watering. LINK{FR}
Union boss accused of ties to the mob
Bosses of the much-maligned CSN Construction union are red faced over revelations that the head of a union local is a well connected criminal.
Dominique Bérubé, head of Local 618 (pipe fitters and insulators) is closely connected to the Mafia, and was photographed attending the funeral of slain mobster big shot Nick Rizzuto. When he was convicted of running a grow-op back in 2003, he shared his lawyer with prominent members of Quebec's biker gangs. Union bosses have claimed that they had no idea and are asking for ..errrr.. an explanation. LINK {Fr}
School bus drivers' strike strands students
"Students in three South Shore school boards may be without a ride to school for some time as about 80 school bus drivers started a strike Tuesday against their employer, Transdev Limocar. As many as 36 schools are affected in total." LINK
Labour woes paralyze Que. justice system
"Quebec's legal system is increasingly paralyzed by labour disputes. Prison guards charged with ferrying inmates back and forth from the courthouses walked off the job this morning. LINKUnionized Foster parents demand contract with government
Add that to the week-old strike by government lawyers and Crown prosecutors, and not much was happening this morning at the Montreal courthouse.
About 1,450 lawyers and prosecutors have, over the last week, traded in their black robes and briefcases for union pickets.
The lawyers estimate they're paid 40 per cent less than counterparts in other provinces." LINK
About 10,000 foster families held a large demonstration in front of Premier Charest's office in Sherbrooke to complain about the slow pave of negotiations in relation to their first contract LINK Video{Fr}
Denim factories set to close
Unable to compete with Chinese competition the last of Quebec denim factories announced that they are set to close July 15, throwing 400 mostly women out of work. Once the home of thousands of well paid textile workers, the Beauce region has seen clothing factory after factory close over the years. LINK{FR}
Longueuil Buses set to strike
Users of public transit in Longueuil could be deprived of service outside of peak hours sooner than expected, confirmed Tuesday the president of the union of bus drivers Network transport de Longueuil (RTL), Michel Robidoux. LINK {Fr}
Union appealing court decision to Supreme Court
The CSN is appealing a Quebec court of Appeal decision that backed Olymel, who closed their pork abbatoir in Saint-Simon. LINK{FR}
Quebec unions seek to muzzle bloggers
The Centrale des syndicats du
Quebec (CSQ), sent a letter to the web managers of the right-wing
blog, lesanalystes.ca demanding that they retract comments that union bosses found
offensive.
The “offensive” terms? The bloggers said those on the political left are mainly made up of “old ladies” and “effeminate men,” Toronto Sun National Post
CSN to union Couche-Tarde
The powerful union is mobilizing to unionize employees of the convenience store chain. It remains to be seen if the powerful company will pull a 'Wal-Mart' and close any store that falls to the union. Link
CSN to union Couche-Tarde
The powerful union is mobilizing to unionize employees of the convenience store chain. It remains to be seen if the powerful company will pull a 'Wal-Mart' and close any store that falls to the union. Link
************************
Here's some interesting anti-union articles appearing this week in the media;We need a total overhaul of Quebec's labour laws- Montreal Gazette
Anti-scab law benefits unions: Conseil Montreal Gazette
The Quebec unionization model: correcting the anomaly Montreal Economic Institute
