Most Quebec workers will be eligible for a wage increase in 2023. A survey by the Quebec Employers Council released Thursday indicates that non-unionized employers in the province are planning an average increase of 4.1% in their wage budget next year. . A third of them are also planning “off-cycle” adjustments to help their employees counter inflation.
“It can take the form of a bonus, it can be the reorganization of the workload. This goes beyond the planned salary increase,” explains CPQ President and CEO Karl Blackburn. “It can also be retention bonuses or performance bonuses rescheduled over time. »
One thing is sure, employees have the advantage when it comes to negotiating their salary conditions, notes the Conseil du patronat du Québec. “It’s clear that in the current context, employees have the big end of the stick,” says Karl Blackburn. Employers have made efforts over the past two years to adjust and will have to continue to do so. »
Quebec in the lead
According to the CPQ survey, which combines the results of various surveys carried out by specialized firms, Quebec is one of the two Canadian provinces where employers are currently the most generous. The other is Manitoba, where employers anticipate an average wage increase of 4.75%. In Ontario, the province to which the Quebec government likes to compare itself to determine its level of wealth, employers anticipate a 3.9% increase in their salary budget.
The average increase for all of Canada is forecast at 3.9% for 2023. As this is a projection, this data serves more as a trend indicator than a target for employers, recalls the CPQ. Thus, the average increase in wages for non-unionized workers for all of Canada in 2022 should be 3.8%, whereas initial projections established it somewhere between 2.8 and 3.4%.
Unsurprisingly, the flagship sectors of the Quebec economy are the most generous towards their workers: companies in the world of technology and real estate services are anticipating a 4.7% wage increase for their non-unionized workers. Companies offering professional services put it at 4.5%, and manufacturing companies forecast an increase of 4.4%.
These sectors are also the most affected by the labor shortage, which is so affecting all of the advanced economies almost everywhere on the planet.
Not just the salary…
The Conseil du patronat du Québec is pointing to another trend in the labor market for the coming year. Pay freezes, which peaked in 2021 due to economic uncertainty related to the COVID-19 pandemic, will be virtually non-existent in 2023. Only 1% of companies either carried out a pay freeze in 2022 or count the next year, compared to 8% in 2021, and an average of between 3 and 5% in the years preceding the pandemic.
A final trend that should be of interest to employers is the importance workers place on factors other than pay in determining where and how they want to work. According to a survey conducted last year by the global compensation consulting firm Normandin-Beaudry, flexibility in work location and hours was at the top of the list last year and continues to be a priority for many workers.
Including a telemedicine offer in employer-sponsored benefits has also jumped to the top of workers’ priorities during the pandemic. Quick access to health-related services is as determining a factor as salary for many employees, adds Normandin-Beaudry.
Overall, Quebec bosses have an interest in pampering their employees more, explains the CPQ. “We haven’t seen the ‘great resignation’ that has happened in the United States over the past two years. the quiet quitting who allow them to do less for their employer is a phenomenon that we do not see emerging in Quebec. But at the same time, we must not turn a deaf ear to these situations. »
Especially since Quebec is more affected than the rest of Canada by the labor shortage, recalls Karl Blackburn. “More than a quarter of the millions of job vacancies found in Canada are in Quebec. That too is a very important issue. »