State engineers | Bitume Quebec is alarmed by the threat of a strike

(Montreal) Some 1,800 engineers from the Quebec state will go on strike from 12:01 a.m. Thursday night to Friday.

These members of the Professional Association of Engineers of the Government of Quebec (APIGQ) work in several ministries, mainly in the Ministry of Transport, but also in the Environment and Municipal Affairs, for example.

However, essential services must be provided.

Salary is the main point in dispute; engineers say they are underpaid compared to the private sector.

After their last pay raise, which dates back to 2019-20, a Class 4 Engineer, Trainee Grade, earns $43,790 at the first step and up to $51,870 at the sixth and final step.

For Class 0 and Grade 1 engineers, the salary is $53,656 at the entry level and up to $95,859 at the 14^and and last rung.

Two reports, Gendreau and that of the Charbonneau Commission, had recommended strengthening the government’s internal expertise in engineering. Moreover, Sonia LeBel, formerly a prosecutor on the Charbonneau commission, is now president of the Treasury Board, the one that negotiates against the APIGQ.

On the side of the Quebec government, the Treasury Board argued Thursday that it had recently tabled “a significant offer which meets the concerns raised following the Gendreau report”.

“This is an increase in remuneration and proposals, which demonstrates the seriousness given by the government to engineers,” argued Minister LeBel’s office.

The minister, however, did not want to comment on the recourse to the strike. “The means of pressure used by the APIGQ belong to them and we will continue the negotiations and still hope to reach an agreement quickly. »

The APIGQ did not want to grant an interview, a few hours before the start of its strike.

Meanwhile, Bitume Québec, which brings together paving companies, equipment suppliers and other industry players, is concerned about the repercussions this strike will have on road construction sites.

“The road works season is already too short and cannot tolerate impacts attributable to labor relations. Sudden and unpredictable climate change already represents a serious threat with which the members of the association must necessarily deal,” commented Tytus Zurawski, president of the association, in a press release.