Posted by | Breaking news… |
| We have just learned that the Syndicat de Ste-Justine category 2 and 3 have signed an agreement that guarantees 3 weeks of vacation to each person. That’s taking care of its guardian angels! |
We have been in the middle of the COVID tornado for 3 months now, our employees are exhausted and stressed by the sometime deplorable conditions they have to endure to continue providing services to the population.
We have stressed out with the fear of running out of personal protective equipment. We have been forced to change our workplace and sometimes even to change jobs. We have been forced to work overtime and many other things.
We cannot accept a policy to limit our vacations under the guise of COVID.
Why limit vacations in departments that are not critical?
Why cancel August vacations now when we do not even know if we will be in crisis in August?
Management MUST grant us the vacations as chosen unless there is a critical situation in a department and each time, it should reach an agreement with the union before proceeding. Currently many managers are cancelling vacations first and asking questions after.
This situation is not the result of COVID. In a large number of job titles we have had grievances for years about the lack of staff, a lack that complicates the allocation of the vacations to which we are entitled and this year, vacations they are even more necessary than usual.
Cancelling vacation time in the hopes of solving a staffing shortage problem could result in a wave of sick leave for our stressed and exhausted employees. Service delivery will not be solved by pushing employees even harder.
For years we’ve been pushing for hiring in offices, housekeeping, trades, kitchen and elsewhere. Often positions are not advertised, so there is a permanent situation of overwork for staff.
Sometimes positions are posted and they don’t find takers because the salary is too low. Sometimes we manage to hire, but the poor working conditions combined with the low wages make new recruits flee. So we continue to be understaffed and our employees are overworked… year-round.
Hire people and pay them what they are worth if you want to keep us healthy to serve the people.