MONTREAL – The employers’ associations in the construction industry and the union alliance were to officially file their respective demands on Thursday, thus initiating the process of negotiating the 2021-2025 collective agreements which concern 192,000 workers in this industry in Quebec.
In accordance with the rules specific to the construction industry, the Union Alliance, which brings together the five (5) recognized trade union organizations in the construction industry, as well as four (4) employers’ associations representing sub-sectors of the construction industry, face each other. construction.
Recall
The Central Committee of the Union Alliance is composed of three (3) representatives in each of the unions below :
- FTQ-Construction (43% of workers)
- Quebec Provincial Council of Construction Trades (23.6% of workers)
- International, Syndicat québécois de la construction (19% of workers)
- CSD-Construction (8.8% of workers)
- CSN-Construction (6% of workers)
The representativeness of employers’ associations is composed as follows, by sector of activity:
- Industrial : Quebec Construction Association (ACQ)
- Institutional and commercial : Quebec Construction Association (ACQ)
- Civil engineering and roads : Association of road and major works constructors of Quebec (ACRGTQ)
- Residential : Association of Construction and Housing Professionals of Quebec (APCHQ)
Operation
Collective agreements in the construction industry last for four years. They expire on April 30, 2021. However, the working conditions continue to apply until there is an agreement in principle, lockout or strike in the targeted sector.
Preamble to the negotiations
- The scarcity of labor in the construction industry is a problem.
- The Quebec government wants to facilitate access to the industry through regulatory changes.
- Many infrastructure projects are planned for the coming years.
- Employers’ associations are calling for major changes to Bill 59.
Labor scarcity
” The scarcity of labor in the construction industry is a problem that has been widely documented.
Several companies are confronted with it, in all regions of Quebec. The Government of Quebec has observed increased effervescence in the industry for several years.
In addition, with our government’s ambitious infrastructure investment plan, demand for labor will be very strong in the coming years.
In order to meet the expectations of Quebeckers, no effort should be spared in integrating and retaining workers in the industry. », Comments Minister Jean Boulet.
Regulatory changes would facilitate the integration of a workforce with relevant work experience and accelerate the path of apprentices to journeyman status, while ensuring the qualification and competence of workers.
In addition, these changes would make it possible to offer work-study alternation to future workers enrolled in a vocational training program.
Bill n o 59
Bill 59 abolishes the function of safety officer and replaces it with that of health and safety coordinator.
It eliminates the obligation to have a safety officer for projects of $ 8 million and more while repositioning the threshold obliging contractors to have a health and safety coordinator only on sites with a value greater than $ 25 million. dollars.
There would therefore no longer be a legal obligation for projects worth $ 8 to $ 25 million to have a qualified person fully dedicated to the management of workers’ health and safety.
Challenges to Bill n o 59
The associations fear that the designation of a worker among the workers, according to the proposed formula, will lead to conflicting labor relations situations, all under the pretext of health and safety.
Prevention mechanisms must promote collaboration between the employer and his workers in order to be fully effective.
In addition, Bill n o59 would deprive entrepreneurs of the possibility of sharing the costs and sometimes even of being exempted from costs for situations or events totally beyond their control, such as the extension of the period of recovery of an employment injury given the presence of personal conditions, premature physical wear and tear or illnesses of a personal nature.
The withdrawal of the notion ” to obey unfairly ” represents an additional financial burden that could be extremely costly for employers, because they would have to bear all the costs of an event totally beyond their control, but eligible for benefits.
Finally, Bill n o 59 would require 120 hours of training for prevention coordinators while the current training program for security guards is 720 hours, which includes a theoretical apprenticeship of 240 hours and 480 hours of on-site training.
Before the Committee on the Economy and Labor, the employers’ associations had one and the same voice presented their joint recommendations to parliamentarians. Consult the joint brief of employers’ associations : HERE
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