Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Following a lengthy round of bargaining, our membership at Health Quality Ontario (HQO) ratified their tentative agreement on March 7. The HQO employer also ratified on the same date, so the new contract, which runs until March 31, 2020, is now in effect. We managed to fight back employer demands for concessions; settled long-standing equity and job evaluation issues; and negotiated 1.4% across-the-board salary increases as of April 1, 2019.
Congratulations to the HQO bargaining team: Members Kristen McMartin and Alexis Schaink and AMAPCEO staff Rob Harris and Michaelin Scott.
The new contract was settled shortly after the announcement that the provincial government intends to merge six health agencies—including HQO—and dissolve the 14 Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs), to create a new “super-agency” called Ontario Health.
AMAPCEO has been vocal in reminding the government of the expertise and rights of HQO members. With the ratification coming just in time, all 17 AMAPCEO members at HQO are protected by their new Collective Agreement in advance of the merger.