Construction Holidays: History and Anecdotes

The ”  Construction holidays  Start this Friday, but do you know where this term comes from which refers to the summer period of two  weeks  during which almost all of the workers working on  worksites  of  construction  benefit from a  leave  obligatory ?

 

 

A site cannot really move forward without several of its workers. In addition, it should also be taken into account that some suppliers are also on vacation in the summer.

Thus, in order to harmonize the period of stoppage of worksites  and to maximize work efficiency the rest of the time, construction vacations were introduced at the behest of the unions.

Over 120  000 workers in the construction industry are taking advantage of this leave. This is also the period that a quarter chooses  Quebecers to take their leave.

 

 

Short story

It was in the summer of 1971 that construction workers in Quebec began to enjoy two weeks of summer vacation following a decree from the provincial government.

 

Holiday voucher

It is the employer who pays the CCQ monthly indemnities for statutory holidays and compulsory annual leave. These amounts represent 13% of the wages earned by workers during each working week:

• 6% in annual leave;
• 5.5% on non-working public holidays;
• 1.5% on sick leave.

Period

Initially, the date of the vacation was the last two full weeks of July.

In 2008, when the employment contract is renewed, the weeks must start in July, and can therefore extend into August.

 

Obligatory

Holidays are compulsory whatever the sector, for the entire construction industry and affect 80% of workers.

 

Exceptions

There are exceptions, especially in the residential sector. An entrepreneur can come to an agreement with his workers to postpone the holidays.

See our article on the subject: HERE 

 

Why ?

A large part of civil engineering and road works, other than those carried out by municipal employees, are also concerned.

Civil works usually take place in the ground so they are carried out when weather conditions permit.

The same goes for emergency, repair, maintenance, renovation or modification work.

For example, this is the case of schools which take advantage of the absence of pupils to carry out the necessary repairs.

 

 

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