Quebec has finally reached an agreement in principle with the union representing the 1,800 engineers employed by the government, which put an end to their strike.
The president of the Professional Association of Government Engineers of Quebec (APIGQ), Marc-André Martin, confirmed the information, in an interview with The Canadian Press tuesday. The two ministers concerned, Sonia LeBel, at the Treasury Board, and François Bonnardel, at Transport, were delighted with this outcome.
The third strike that APIGQ had initiated therefore ended at noon on Tuesday.
Previously, these engineers had disengaged for the first time from April 22, a second time from June 1, then a third time from June 21. Between each strike, the parties had resumed discussions, without reaching an agreement.
This time, negotiations resumed at the end of last week, then they continued from Monday noon, until the night of Monday to Tuesday. And this time was the right one.
“It’s a global agreement, complete, everything that is normative and salary,” said Mr. Martin. He did not want to give more details, since his members were not themselves informed of the content of the agreement in principle.
Members will be called upon to vote during a virtual meeting on Thursday.
Remuneration, in connection with the classification of these engineers, was at the heart of the dispute. Quebec wanted to create a senior engineer classification, but the parties did not agree on how to define it, according to what parameters, and who could take advantage of it.
The negotiations were laborious. On June 21, the president of the Treasury Board, Sonia LeBel, pointed out that Quebec was on its 10th offer to the engineers’ union.
Mr. Martin says he is satisfied with it. “A good negotiation ends when each party thinks it has dropped a big chunk,” he says.
Recognized importance, says Quebec
“Important work has been done by both parties in recent weeks to reach this agreement in principle and I would like to thank them. I would also like to underline the importance of the work of government engineers who allow us to carry out various infrastructure projects for Quebecers,” commented Minister LeBel in a press release.
“I am convinced that this agreement will be beneficial for state engineers. This will enable them to catch up significantly and ensure competitiveness on the labor market. Engineers play a fundamental role in the economy and the proper functioning of our worksites and I would like to thank them for their work,” commented Minister Bonnardel in turn.
The APIGQ represents 1,800 engineers employed by the government, including 1,200 employed by the Ministère des Transports. The others are employed by the Ministry of the Environment, then by other ministries.
The strike also had a lot of repercussions on civil engineering and road construction sites under the jurisdiction of the Quebec government, since government engineers must supervise these sites. Delays were incurred, to the chagrin of the construction contractors concerned.