The Militant(logo) 
    Vol.62/No.1           January 12, 1998 
 
 
Montreal: Thousands Of Hospital Workers Strike Against Job Cuts  

BY ANNETTE KOURI
MONTREAL - Thousands of hospital workers walked off the job here December 17 at the three hospitals that were recently merged to form the University of Montreal Health Center (CHUM). Through the one-day work stoppage, as well as demonstrations, workers protested the job cuts and increased work load that they see as a result of this merger.

Several kitchen workers walking the picket line in front of Notre-Dame Hospital told the Militant why they were there. Claudine St-Onge said, "I'm here to support my union, to move things along, so that the quality of services improves. The positions that they've posted should be filled. People should get some job security."

The government of Quebec has slashed millions of dollars from the health budget in the last few years and has eliminated thousands of jobs. The establishment of the CHUM took place in that framework. Hospital administrators say they plan to cut an additional $10 million in costs and 427 jobs.

In response to the protests, administrators said that they would fill 927 positions that have been open since September and keep up to 1,248 beds available for short-term patients, but only if there are enough funds. Striker Catherine Lemire said, "They should reopen the positions they've already cut and fill those that are empty." Stephane Cote added "We must convince the government not to cut positions. It's the patients that are deprived in the end."

The ruling-class attacks against the hospital workers were swift and almost hysterical. The December 18 issue of the tabloid Journal de Montreal, the city's largest daily, had a front-page headline "A Broken Heart at 91 Years Old - Christmas Party Canceled Because of the Strike at CHUM" with a photo of an elderly man covering three-quarters of the page.

The CHUM Board is forcing the union executives to appear in court December 22 on charges of striking illegally and allegations of not maintaining essential services during the strike. Union officials could face heavy fines. The Quebec National Assembly passed a special law assuring that the workers would be subjected to Law 160. This measure says the government can take away one year of seniority for every day of a strike by public workers, as well as impose fines of $5,000 to $25,000 per person and $20,000 to $100,000 per union.

Gerald Larose, the president of the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN), one of the major unions involved, described the government's actions as "shameful. I find it completely out of proportion that the government lets loose a terrifying arsenal like Law 160 so that a union gives up trying to have an agreement respected that it's signed with an employer." Larose was referring to an agreement signed by the CHUM board on the number of jobs and beds it would keep.

Following the walkout, Jocelyne Fortier, the president of the CSN local at Notre-Dame Hospital, stated, "Absolutely nothing has been settled" and warned that the work climate at Notre-Dame would be at its worst. Fortier spoke to the press after a December 18 union meeting where a sizable minority of 309 out of 675 union members present voted to continue the strike in spite of Law 160 and the other attacks. Local members did decide to stay out until the end of the day even though all the other workers had already gone back.

Local member Line Lafond told the press, "I would like the government to stop whacking us over the head. It's gotten very difficult to work in a hospital."

Annette Kouri is a member of the United Steelworkers of America in Montreal.  
 
 
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