(Montreal) The negotiation process for the renewal of collective agreements in the construction industry has just been launched, while the Quebec Construction Association, which represents 20,000 companies, has just submitted its notice of negotiation.
For its part, the union alliance, which brings together the five union organizations in the industry, must do the same this Thursday. Its members – the FTQ-Construction, the Quebec Construction Union, the Quebec Provincial Council of Construction Trades (International), the CSD-Construction and the CSN-Construction – met on Wednesday.
Global negotiations in the industry concern 200,000 workers in all regions of Quebec; these are the most important negotiations after those in the public and parapublic sectors.
Four collective agreements must be negotiated for the four subsectors of the industry. The ACQ is the employers’ association which negotiates for the institutional, commercial and industrial sectors.
By submitting its notice of negotiation, the ACQ wanted to “signify its intention to quickly initiate discussions” with the union alliance, it argued Thursday.
The collective agreements will not expire until next April, but traditionally, these negotiations stretch over several months. They involve four employer associations and five union associations to negotiate four collective agreements.
These negotiations will take place at a time when there is a shortage of labor in the industry and after Quebec has adopted a major reform affecting in particular the versatility of trades and the interregional mobility of workers.
“These discussions aim to renew the conventions in a spirit of collaboration and mutual respect, taking into account current economic realities and issues specific to the industry,” summarized the ACQ.