Gabrielle Laverdière

Gabrielle Laverdière is a master's candidate in social work at the University of Quebec in Montreal. During her undergraduate studies at the University of Montreal, she participated in organizing the internship strike. She is now involved in the Great Resignation, a self-organization initiative within Quebec's public services.

A Salary for Service Users: A Path to a True United Front

2:15 PM

The professionalization of part of reproductive labor, from the establishment of public social services to their gradual dismantling, has created a rift between, on the one hand, users and, on the other hand, workers in social services. The state of services and the acts of refusal by the latter (strikes, slowing down work) cause suffering for the former, to the point that one group turns against the other, often verbally and sometimes physically. With the aim of recognizing that social services place patients, informal caregivers, parents, etc., into labor, the demand for a salary for users opens up the possibility of class reunification against the true culprits of the miserable conditions of both groups.