MONTREAL - The Quebec Inter-Professional Health Federation (FIQ) is celebrating a Labour Board ruling that they believe will stem the tide of private health services hiring away nurses from the public system.

A Quebec Labour Relations Board decision has sided with the FIQ complaint that 21 hospital staffers hired by the Maisonneuve-Rosemont Hospital must be included in the FIQ union, which represents 58,000 nurses and other health staff.

The FIQ filed a grievance on October 23, 2009 against Girafe Health and Agence MD, among the largest private health service facilities in the province.

Regine Laurent of the FIQ, said that the hirings were one example of the growing trend of private health services luring health professionals away from the public sector.

Laurent urged Health Minister Yves Bolduc to apply the judgment throughout the provincial health system.

She said that the FIQ would continue to file grievances to prevent the private sector from poaching health care professionals from the public system.