This text is part of the special section Unionism
Better overall remuneration, greater teleworking flexibility, improvement in the government contribution to group insurance… The Union of Professionals of the Government of Quebec (SPGQ) is calling for numerous measures to retain the Quebec public service workforce .
“We’ve been repeating the same thing for years because that’s what stands out,” immediately launches the president of the SPGQ, Guillaume Bouvrette. There are a lot of resignations. What we see is that there are a lot of people leaving for other public sectors or private companies. »
According to a report published by the Institute of Statistics of Quebec, Quebec state civil servants earn nearly 15% less than in other public services such as the federal government and municipalities. Compared to the private sector, SPGQ members receive 9% less in terms of overall compensation. “Obviously, this has a direct impact on the ability to attract people when we have vacant positions, but also to keep them employed in the long term,” believes Mr. Bouvrette.
According to him, the Quebec government “acts as a school club” for professionals. “People start a career there. But, quickly, they have overall remuneration conditions which are much more advantageous in the private sector,” he argues.
More competitive advantages
By demanding better overall compensation for its members, the SPGQ hopes for greater participation from Quebec in the group insurance of its civil servants. “There is a certain myth according to which, in the public service, we have social benefits that are concrete. This is not true within the provincial government, he believes. The government contributes almost nothing to its employees’ group insurance plan. We rank in the 4% of the least generous in the province,” he says.
Mr. Bouvrette also wants greater flexibility in terms of teleworking, which has seen an increase during the pandemic. “It comes to the top of the list of priorities, particularly among professionals, because, generally speaking, their tasks are more suited to it,” he emphasizes. He also notes that civil servants are leaving the Quebec state for lower salaries, due to better flexibility for remote work.
Expensive subcontracting
A SPGQ report made public in April highlights that Quebec uses subcontracting in several sectors, especially for jobs in the IT field. “It has grown in recent years. It’s a specialty where resources are squeezed out. And we must note that the Quebec government is no longer competitive today,” observes Mr. Bouvrette.
The study published by the union organization also concludes that, in several ministries, more than one in two people in IT come from a company outside the Quebec state. “In the least worst case scenario, it costs at least twice as much to resort to subcontracting,” argues Mr. Bouvrette.
The SPGQ believes that Quebec has the means to offer better working conditions to public service employees. “This would allow us to fill vacant positions, attract resources, and above all, retain state experts at a lower cost than resorting to subcontracting,” underlines Mr. Bouvrette. For him, such a “courageous” decision by the Legault government would be a way not only to maintain public services, but also “to save money”.
For Mr. Bouvrette, Quebec public service employees “sincerely believe in the mission for which they work every day.” “But there comes a time when that won’t hold them back,” he warns. “When we make these salary requests, it is because this is what we need to be able to maintain a strong public service in Quebec. »
Unlike other union organizations, the SPGQ is not planning a walkout for the moment. He will hold consultations in October in order to take stock of the current negotiations. “We are not at the stage of voting for a strike mandate, but it is obviously discussed within our bodies,” he specifies.
He nevertheless believes that improving the working conditions of SPGQ members will require “courageous decisions on the part of the government to correct the situation and reduce these departure rates. »
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