Quebec to table new offer for public sector unionized workers Oct. 29

MONTREAL – Quebec will table a new offer to government employees on Sunday.

The president of the Conseil du trésor, Sonia LeBel, made the announcement on social media Tuesday.

She said she was “more determined than ever to settle by the end of the year” with unionized employees in the public and parapublic sectors.

The Minister also said she would announce at the same time what will happen to the bonuses paid to thousands of government employees. Some of these bonuses were due to expire on March 31, but had been extended to Sept. 30 and Oct. 15.

“The total value of these bonuses is some $600 million,” the Minister explained in an interview.

They include bonuses paid to nurses, psychologists, specialized workers and those working with people in long-term care facilities, for example. These bonuses can represent several thousand dollars for each worker concerned.

On Sept. 25, Minister LeBel pledged to reduce her sectoral demands to five, and asked the unions to do the same, with the aim of reaching an agreement by the end of the year. She said that if the unions took the exercise seriously, bonuses would be maintained until December, the time needed to renew all collective agreements.

Common front takes note

The Front commun intersyndical, which includes the CSQ, CSN, APTS and FTQ, said it would not comment on the announcement for the time being. It wants to wait and see what Minister LeBel will table on Oct. 29 before commenting.

The Minister had already improved her offer on March 27, notably by announcing the extension of certain bonuses. However, the unions were not satisfied.

The common front has already drawn up a strike mandate, which 95 per cent of its members have adopted. It has not yet decided when it will exercise this mandate.

On the wage front, since last December, Quebec has been offering a nine per cent increase over five years, plus a lump sum of $1,000 in the first year. In addition, a sum equivalent to 2.5 per cent has been earmarked to “government priorities,” making its offer worth 13 per cent over five years.

The inter-union common front is calling for a three-year contract, example, the Consumer Price Index plus two per cent increase for the first year – or $100 per week, whichever is most advantageous for workers – then the CPI plus three per cent for the second year and the CPI plus four per cent for the third year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Oct. 24, 2023, and translated by CityNews.