Quebec unions concerned about abolition of lab technician title

A technologist works in a lab during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

Unions representing public-sector workers are concerned about the Ministry of Health and Social Services’ intention to abolish the title of laboratory technician and bring them under the professional order of medical technologists of Quebec.

The unions -- APTS, FSSS-CSN, FP-CSN, FIQ, FSQ-CSQ, SCFP and SQEES -- received a notice of intent from the ministry a few weeks ago outlining its intention to implement this change.

In their view, the government’s objective is to counter the shortage of staff at blood banks and collection centres, but this is the wrong way to go about it.

Following receipt of the ministry’s notice, the unions have been given 90 days to respond.

Laboratory technicians would not cease to practise with the abolition of their title; they would be grouped together in the professional order of technologists and would have to pay annual dues (about $400 a year) to be part of it.

It should be noted from the outset that laboratory technicians and medical technologists occupy similar jobs. They have the same college training and the pay scale is the same. One important distinction is membership of a professional order, because medical technologists may perform reserved acts, and the order ensures the protection of the public by controlling the practice of its members.

Reserved acts may be performed only in certain areas, i.e. for technologists working in blood collection centres, blood banks and those working in pathology.

This is where the problem lies, according to the unions: “There are very few reserved acts in the laboratories. So there are a lot of people who say to themselves, ‘Why do I need to be a member of a professional order when I don’t perform any reserved acts in my practice?’ And that’s when they choose to become certified laboratory technicians rather than medical technologists because, in the end, all that changes for them is the obligation to spend about $400 a year to be a member of the professional order,” explained an APTS representative.

He believes that the government’s plan will not go down well with its 1,100 technician members.

He pointed out that there is a clause in the collective agreement that allows half the cost of the permit issued by the professional order to be reimbursed, but only for full-time positions.

According to the APTS, this excludes many workers, particularly evening and night workers.

The unions want the ministry to back down on its plan and maintain the title of laboratory technician.

Instead of having more members of the professional order go to work in reserved areas, the unions are suggesting that incentives be introduced, such as bonuses for practising in blood banks, a sector where needs are great because it has to operate 24 hours a day.

The APTS spokesperson says that offering better working conditions would attract female technicians to sensitive sectors, and they would voluntarily take steps to join the professional order.

“They are more likely to want to stay there in the long term,” he said.

“This measure solves nothing. It merely shifts the problem without tackling the root causes of the shortage in laboratories: difficult working conditions, a lack of professional recognition and poor work organisation,” argued the seven trade union organizations in a statement issued on Friday.

It should be remembered that the Ministry of Health had already tried to implement a similar measure in 2023, but backed down.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 28, 2025.

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