The strike by Quebec government engineers has been going on since April 22. Fifty days during which construction sites are paralyzed for lack of supervision, work is delayed because of calls for tenders which are slow to be published, work planning is put on hold.
Even more worrying, this labor dispute is taking place in the greatest indifference. And yet, this labor dispute has had its share of dramatic consequences for Quebec society, in addition to causing irreparable damage to contractors in the civil engineering and roadwork sector.
In Quebec, because of our winter, road works are concentrated in an excessively limited season. If, for example, the paving work does not take place during this critical period, the road network deteriorates even more, annihilating the efforts to restore this infrastructure.
It is well known that Quebecers are exasperated when the roadwork season resumes. This year, their patience will be put to the test because not only will the traffic obstructions remain despite deserted road works, but they will continue as long as the work is not completed. Insofar as the labor dispute ends and construction sites resume… Work that is prolonged is also work that costs more, especially in the context of galloping inflation.
Labor issues
Meanwhile, entrepreneurs – who are already sorely short of manpower – cannot get their employees to work. This situation could create serious harm to the contractors affected, who will not be able to retain their employees indefinitely and who risk losing them to the detriment of contractors working in the private sector or whose work is not supervised by government engineers.
Quebec taxpayers will also pay for this inability to reach an agreement between the state and the Professional Association of Engineers of the Government of Quebec.
Contractors will have no choice but to make claims for contracts they have duly won but cannot perform. With each passing day, it is estimated that claims could approach $10 million. Do the math, the labor dispute started 50 days ago and negotiations seem to have stalled… We could easily hit the half-billion-dollar mark in claims. All because a labor dispute is paralyzing the short work season.
Inspections and submitted projects
If the strike continues, our members fear that several projects will be postponed to the following year or simply cancelled. The postponement of such work could not only compromise the condition and safety of certain structures for which repair work had already been planned, but will also put even greater pressure on public markets, which have already been in a state of overheating for several years. Moreover, we are extremely concerned by the fact that the Ministry of Transport will probably not be able to carry out all the inspections of the structures that it had planned for the year 2022 if the engineers’ strike were to continue.
On the other hand, the industry faces a shortage of various materials and suffers from the uncertainty of the costs thereof. Several contractors who have received a notice of postponement of the work fear that the materials they have ordered will no longer be available when they are resumed or that they will lose their priority in the orders, which will cause delays on the construction sites which may result in the application of penalties.
Currently, our contractors are bearing the brunt of a labor dispute that is getting worse and dragging on. It is imperative that the government and its engineers reach an agreement as soon as possible.
Our entrepreneurs no longer accept being held hostage. Settle this conflict as soon as possible.
Steve Gonthier, President of the Association of Road Builders and Major Works of Quebec