“Full-time healthcare workers who accumulate the two premiums will receive up to $3,000 more per month,” Treasury Board president Dubé.

As the federal government reached an agreement with the provinces to spend up to $3 billion to boost wages for essential workers across the country, Quebec confirmed Thursday, new bonuses for healthcare personnel.

Quebec Premier François Legault and President of the Conseil du trésor, Christian Dubé, confirmed new bonuses valued up to $3000 per month, on top of salaries and the other incentives, to encourage healthcare staff to work with COVID-19 victims.

Employees who complete four consecutive weeks of 36.25 hours in CHSLDs, private residences along with a selected group of hospital workers working in hot zones with COVID-19 infected people will be eligible for up to $1000 per month.

All the staff who work full-time in a CHSLD across the province where there are no COVID-19 cases will receive an additional $ 100 per week.

The new lump sums will add to premiums declared earlier this April, specifically $4 an hour for private-sector patient attendants, and 4 per cent or 8 per cent for employees of the public sector.

“For a patient attendant, it’s about 30 percent of the salary,” said premier Legault.

Treasury Board president Dubé, added that full-time healthcare workers who accumulate the two premiums will receive up to $3,000 more per month.

Money is aimed at select group of hospital personnel.

Nurses, including clinical and auxiliary, respiratory therapists, patient attendants and housekeeping staff working in designated hot zone hospitals of the Greater Montreal area, will receive the premium.

$2000 per month for regional staff who relocate.

Regional healthcare workers from cold zones outside of Montreal who accept to be temporarily transferred to the epicentre of the pandemic, Montreal, Laval or Montérégie, will receive $500 a week on top of their salaries and the other incentives.

An extra $400 per month to all CHSLD workers.

All employees who work in a CHSLD across the province where there are no COVID-19 cases will receive an additional $ 100 per week.

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Breakdown of the new bonuses:

• + $100 per week for all CHSLD staff across the province.

For all hot zone CHSLD staff and selected hot zone hospital staff.

• + $200 after two consecutive weeks of work of at least 36.25 hours each week.
• + $400 after 4 consecutive weeks of work of at least 36.25 hours each week.
• + $500 per week for regional staff who relocate to pandemic hot spots in, Montreal, Laval or Montérégie.

The province’s healthcare network absenteeism rate has almost doubled in less than three weeks, from 6,000 missing employees on April 20 to 11,600 today.

Of those that remain 50 per cent are part-time only, a rate that reaches 60 per cent in long-term care facilities.

Quebec hopes the new incentives will not only attract new employees but motivate workers on the job since the start of the crisis by paying them more and inspire part-time workers to work full-time.