Quebec government engineers suspend their strike until May 23

The 2,100 engineers in the Quebec government have just suspended their indefinite strike until May 23.

The president of the Association professionnelle des ingénieurs du gouvernement du Québec (APIGQ), Marc-André Martin, confirmed the news Tuesday.

He stated that the negotiating committee decided this “for strategic reasons.”

The parties have not changed their position, however, and no new negotiation date was scheduled as of Tuesday morning.

The engineers, who work for the ministries of transportation, municipal affairs, the environment, and cybersecurity, among others, had toughened their stance, transforming their evening, night, and weekend strike into an indefinite strike on May 2.

This strike by government engineers has delayed the planning of several civil engineering projects and the issuance of permits, which is worrying contractor associations in the affected sectors.

But the APIGQ has chosen to change strategy, with its members returning to work Tuesday morning and remaining at work until May 23, Martin said.

“We still hope that, during this period of calm, something will break through,” he commented.

Although no negotiation date has yet been set, “things can change quickly,” he noted.

The APIGQ negotiating committee was scheduled to meet again on Tuesday.

As for the Treasury Board, Minister Sonia LeBel’s office assures that “it is possible to reach an agreement quickly with the engineers.” The Treasury Board has even suggested the intervention of a special mediator to achieve this.

The firm reiterates, however, that “the framework established during the last round of negotiations will not be called into question; engineers have access to the same parameters, the same sectoral envelope, and the same conditions as the others. It’s a matter of fairness” toward the other unions that have settled with the Quebec government.

The APIGQ, however, is convinced of the opposite. The 17.4 per cent salary increases over five years are the same, it concedes, but the sectoral envelope, therefore reserved for engineers’ other working conditions, is not of the same order as that of other public sector unions, maintains the APIGQ.

The Treasury Board reiterates that “more than 98 per cent of groups in the public and parapublic sectors have reached an agreement with the government.”

It says it is open to continuing talks with the APIGQ. “Our negotiating teams remain available to continue discussions at the bargaining table.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews