Residential construction strike threat in Quebec

The countdown has begun to try to avoid a strike in the residential construction industry, with the Union Alliance having raised the possibility of exercising its strike mandate as early as 9 a.m. on May 21.

On Tuesday, the Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ) reported that it had submitted a new proposal to the union Monday, with the aim of avoiding a strike.

“The APCHQ is continuing negotiations and efforts to reach an agreement. It remains fully committed to the process and favors a negotiated agreement. The Association therefore submitted a new proposal to the Union Alliance on Monday.”

The five unions that make up the Syndicale Alliance—that is, all the construction unions—have given themselves an unlimited strike mandate. They are, in descending order of importance, the FTQ-Construction, the Syndicat québécois de la construction, the Conseil provincial du Québec des métiers de la construction (International), the CSD-Construction, and the CSN-Construction.

In an interview last Friday, the spokesperson for the Syndicale Alliance, Alexandre Ricard, sent a message: “First step: we have set a deadline for our request in relation to the blitz of negotiations. Then, on the 21st at 9 a.m., if we don’t have an agreement, we will reassess the situation. But I can certainly already tell you that we will not hesitate to use our strike mandate if we don’t have a signed agreement in principle.”

–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews