Quebec labour tribunal to hear health-care union case about owed bonuses

The Quebec Labour Tribunal will hear complaints from the APTS about bonuses due to health-care workers in the province. LA PRESSE CANADIENNE/Graham Hughes (Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press)

The issue of the bonuses that were supposed to be paid to health-care workers came before the Quebec Labour Tribunal on Monday, as it began hearing the complaint on this subject filed by the workers’ union alliance.

The Alliance du personnel professionnel et technique de la santé et des services sociaux (APTS), which represents 67,000 members, has filed a complaint of obstruction of union activities against the employer Santé Québec, since to this day bonuses have only been partially paid to the workers concerned.

The bonuses in question are numerous: night, evening and weekend bonuses, bonuses for working in youth centres, critical care bonuses and bonuses for working with clients with serious behavioural problems, for example.

These bonuses were agreed during the last negotiations to renew the public sector collective agreements.

The APTS signed its agreement on June 7, 2024. According to the deadline, the employer had to pay the premiums within 120 days of signing the agreement, i.e. by Oct. 5, 2024.

As of Monday, not all the premiums due have been paid.

In discussions with the APTS, the Comité patronal de négociation de la santé et des services sociaux cited a problem with payroll system service providers to explain the delays.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 24, 2025.