1,800 government engineers go on strike for second time

File image of engineer working on aircraft. (Photo by RF._.studio from Pexels)

The 1,800 engineers employed by the Quebec government are on strike again after a break down in negotiations.

The indefinite strike was called at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday by members of the Association professionnelle des ingénieurs du gouvernement du Québec (APIGQ).

They had already walked off the job on April 23, but stopped after a month to give negotiations a chance, explains union president Marc-André Martin.

Those talks broke down early Tuesday night.

Martin says negotiations are now "at an impasse" despite the fact that the parties were "within a hair's breadth of an agreement in principle."

Compensation is at the heart of the dispute, with the APIGQ reporting that its members face a significant wage gap compared to engineers in other public sectors, such as municipal.

Martin states the union was willing to extend the workweek to 37.5 hours, as requested by the Treasury Board, which also wanted to create a second class of expert engineers.

The Quebec government argues it has already made a good offer to the engineers to renew their collective agreement.

Some 1,200 of APIGQ's 1,800 engineers work at the transport ministry, while others are employed at the environment ministry and others.

The strike could affect numerous construction sites, as well as the starting of projects and the negotiation of contracts with consulting engineering firms.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 1, 2022.