About a quarter of Quebec workers fall on vacation on Friday and many plan to have a good time in Quebec or elsewhere in the world, despite galloping inflation.
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During the construction holidays, the Quebec economy slows down since it is estimated that a quarter of the active workforce takes leave during this period, according to the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ).
Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montreal / QMI Agency
“We won’t splurge this year,” says Pierre-Marc Caouette, a heavy machinery operator from Quebec. The house and groceries are costing us more, so we’re going to stay home and enjoy the pool.”
More than half (57%) of people surveyed by CAA-Quebec say they will spend their weeks off in Quebec. 16% of them will travel to countries other than Canada and the United States, double what was observed in 2022.
Among the overseas destinations, Europe is the most popular for vacationers in the province. 9% of them will go there, mainly in France, Spain and Italy.
Record of holiday vouchers under construction
This year, even more workers in Quebec will be putting away tools for the next two weeks. More than 192,000 construction vacation checks were issued, representing a sum of nearly $617 million. This is 12% more than last year.
This variation is mainly explained by the number of hours worked in 2022, which exceeded forecasts, reaching 210.2 million declared hours, an all-time high.
Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montreal / QMI Agency
“This is an increase of 7% compared to the previous year. This is good news for the industry, except that it comes with challenges, particularly in terms of labor shortages. It becomes problematic for employers, some of whom are forced to refuse contracts, ”said Marie-Noëlle Deblois, spokesperson for the CCQ.
Well deserved time off
Construction holidays became official in 1970 by government decree. They were immediately added to the working conditions agreed upon by employers and workers, before officially coming into force in the summer of 1971.
Met by The newspaper on large construction sites in Montreal and Quebec in recent days, the workers who are entitled to it said they were impatiently waiting for this respite.
Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montreal / QMI Agency
“In the last few weeks, it was intense [en raison de la mauvaise qualité de l’air]. Let’s say that, by Friday, we were really tired, ”said Alexandre Lebelle, a construction employee who works on a residential site in Montreal.
In the capital, the torrential rains and the suffocating heat of July got the better of the motivation of laborer Maxime Poitras. The latter maintains that he is fed up with “spending his days in the rain or the big sun” and intends to take advantage of his holidays to regain his strength.
-With the collaboration of Diane Tremblay and Marianne Langlois