This text is part of the special section Unionism
In full negotiations with the Government of Quebec, the Public and Parapublic Service Union (SFPQ) recalls that the poor working conditions of its members have a direct impact on the ability of ministries to carry out their missions.
Last September, the Québec Ombudsman gave examples of ministries and public bodies that have encountered problems recently, such as the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec, which failed in its digital shift, or the Housing Tribunal, which has struggled to guarantee access to its services. He recognized that the scarcity of labor made their task more difficult, while recalling that this could not serve as an excuse for the government for the numerous breakdowns in services in its administration. He also denounced the cuts of previous years, which deprived employees of resources.
The SFPQ did not take time to rush into this breach. “The difficulties experienced by ministries and public bodies are largely linked to the labor shortage,” admits Christian Daigle, general president of the independent union, which has around 40,000 members. But this shortage is aggravated by the poor working conditions offered by the Quebec government compared to similar jobs in the private sector or in other public administrations. »
Significant differences
According to the Quebec Statistics Institute, a Quebec government employee earns on average 11.9% less than all other Quebec employees and 8.7% less than those in the private sector. He earns on average 25.7% less than a municipal government worker. He also receives much less than unionized workers in Quebec and a little less than those who are not unionized.
Even taking into account overall compensation, which includes social benefits, the gaps remain pronounced compared to other unionized employees. It reaches 34.6% compared to municipal employees. “It’s difficult to remain attractive in a very competitive job market with such gaps,” emphasizes Christian Daigle. So a lot of people leave their jobs and it becomes a vicious cycle. The more workers we lose, the heavier the workload becomes for those who remain, who in turn risk leaving. »
Voluntary departures (which generally include retirements) bear witness to this. They exceeded 18% in 2022 in several administrations, including the ministries of Education and Justice. In both cases, this turnover rate has increased by more than 50% since 2020.
Discussions get bogged down
The latest negotiations between the government of Quebec and its public administration ended with the signing, in the fall of 2022, of a collective agreement lasting only three years. However, as the previous agreement had expired since March 2020, negotiations had to resume less than six months later.
Currently, the gap between government and union positions remains enormous and negotiations are stalling. The government remains stuck to its proposal of 9% over five years, which the SFPQ considers unreasonable. Especially since Quebec MPs voted for a 30% salary increase last June and the government offered increases of 21% over five years to employees of the Sûreté du Québec (who also rejected this proposal) .
“For our part, we want to obtain a much more substantial improvement in the working conditions of the workers and civil servants that we represent,” says the trade unionist. This is necessary in particular because of the cost of living which has increased significantly in recent years. » The SFPQ calls for, among other things, the establishment of a mechanism for automatically adjusting salaries to inflation based on the Quebec consumer price index of the previous year. It also requires an additional annual increase of 4%, in order to begin a salary catch-up with the rest of the public sector.
The union also presented other requests when submitting its demands last March, including the integration of teleworking into the collective agreement, better work-family balance for its members and promotion of expertise and experience in the public service. “Seasoned employees work much faster and make fewer errors than recruits, that’s normal,” emphasizes Christian Daigle. Providing better working conditions would help improve their retention, which would allow the public administration to work faster and more efficiently and therefore, ultimately, significantly reduce costs for the government. »
This content was produced by the Special Publications team at Duty, relating to marketing. The writing of the Duty did not take part.