Quebec close to eliminating 1,300 healthcare jobs
Health Minister Gaétan Barrette says province could reach 90% of its goal under Bill 10 by March 2016
The Quebec government is close to reaching its goal of eliminating 1,300 management jobs in the healthcare system.
Health Minister Gaétan Barrette confirmed that 1,140 jobs will be merged or eliminated by the end of March 2016 — nearly 90 per cent of the province's objective.
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The changes come under Bill 10, a controversial healthcare reform bill that passed in the National Assembly in February 2015.
It has resulted in the abolishment the boards of individual health institutions, mainly hospitals and merged them into 28 regional boards.
'It's going very well'
Bill 10 has resulted in a mix of eliminating job posts but also employees retiring or leaving their fields.
"In my opinion, I think it is going very well in terms of reform," Barrette told Radio-Canada.
Barette said 424 employees left their jobs "to do something else," while 382 accepted a bonus to take early retirement or leave.
Another 334 professionals opted for retirement or early retirement at no additional costs to the province.
Based on a report by Radio-Canada's Davide Gentile