Héma-Québec deplores strike threats

Montréal, March 22, 2010 — Héma-Québec deplores today’s announcement by three unions affiliated with the CSN of a possible strike. Héma-Québec’s unionized employees are represented by a total of nine unions.

Héma-Québec would like to point out that meetings with a mediator appointed for the three CSN unions representing the Montréal facility by Québec’s Labour Minister started at the end of February and will continue until April 19. For Héma-Québec, efforts to find a favourable settlement are following their due course.

Since, after more than 80 meetings, the pace of the negotiations had not resulted in any significant progress, Héma-Québec decided to appeal to the Labour Minister in January 2010 for mediation to settle these three collective agreements, which cover 30% of Héma-Québec’s personnel.

Negotiations with the two other Montréal unions, namely the Syndicat du personnel infirmier d’Héma-Québec (SPI-CSQ) and the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 3807 (CUPE-3807), as well as the other unions representing the Québec City facility are progressing in a manner satisfactory to the parties.

Héma-Québec would also like to specify that donors are always expected and welcome at the blood drives that take place each day in Québec. “Our primary concern is to be able to provide blood products to patients in Québec. In this spirit, it is important that blood donor clinics be perfectly accessible to blood donors,” said Manon Pepin, Vice-President – Public Affairs and Marketing.

Héma-Québec will take all the measures needed to prevent unfavourable impacts on the collective blood supply that could endanger the lives of patients. The Conseil des services essentiels has, as a result, been notified about this situation.

About Héma-Québec

Héma-Québec's mission is to efficiently provide adequate quantities of safe, optimal blood components, substitutes, human tissues and cord blood to meet the needs of all Quebecers; to provide and develop expertise along with specialized and innovative services and products in the fields of transfusion medicine and human tissue transplantation.

Give blood. Give life.

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Héma-Québec
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