Santé Québec to pay FIQ union $50K in damages over unpaid bonuses

One of the demonstrations of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ) held as part of its lengthy negotiations for the renewal of its collective agreements with Quebec, on September 6, 2023 in Montreal. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press)

A union representing Quebec health-care workers won its case before the Labour Relations Board concerning bonuses that had been paid to nurses several months late, in violation of what had been negotiated in the collective agreement.

The Tribunal upheld the complaint of obstruction of union activities filed by the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé (FIQ) against Santé Québec and several health-care institutions. It ordered them to cease obstructing FIQ activities.

The Tribunal ordered Santé Québec to pay $50,000 in punitive damages to the FIQ.

The judgment criticizes Santé Québec for having “shown carelessness or, at the very least, a lack of diligence and seriousness with regard to an important contractual obligation to an employee association.”

The collective agreement signed in December 2024 by the FIQ provided for the payment of certain bonuses or adjustments no later than 120 days after the signing of the agreement, i.e., April 5, 2025.

When the hearing began at the end of the summer of 2025, some nurses were still waiting for the full amounts owed.

When the FIQ asked for explanations for these delays over the months, it was told that there were “programming difficulties” with the software used by the IT firms responsible for the payroll systems.

The FIQ’s witnesses told Judge Myriam Bédard that this was not the first time such delays had occurred; it had also been the case after the negotiation of the previous collective agreement.

The FIQ previously argued that these delays had affected credibility with its members, who criticized it for not knowing how to negotiate, as if these delays were its fault.

“Santé Québec, an employer well versed in union issues, could not have been unaware of the effect of the delays now being denounced on the employees’ association. This failure constitutes an unlawful and intentional violation of the right of association on the part of Santé Québec and must be condemned,” Bédard said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 4, 2026.

Lia Lévesque, The Canadian Press