Quebec labour minister tables reform of construction industry

A new condo site under construction in Montreal, Friday, June 9, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

On Thursday, Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet finally tabled his reform aimed at modernizing the construction industry, which has raised hopes among employers and caused gnashing of teeth among the unions.

As expected, the reform addresses the delicate issues of workers' inter-regional mobility and the sharing of tasks between certain trades.

To get the unions on board, the reform gives them the right to retroactive pay rises by allowing them to negotiate retroactive adjustments.

This has been a union demand for several years.

At present, when the parties negotiate the renewal of collective agreements in the construction industry and reach an agreement, the increases agreed are not retroactive to the expiry of the previous agreement, as is the case in other sectors. The bill will change that.

The reform provides for the creation of a "retroactive pay fund" for this purpose.

Mobility between regions

The issue of the inter-regional movement of workers was raised during the Charbonneau Commission hearings as a source of tension.

Workers in the Côte-Nord, for example, were seeing people from other regions arriving while, at the same time, they were unable to find jobs.

Under the current regional hiring priority rules, an employer who gets a job in a region other than his own can take a limited number of his workers there.

They must also hire workers local to the region where they won the contract.

Boulet has indicated that as of May 1, 2025, employers and unions will be prohibited from agreeing to clauses limiting employee mobility or employers' freedom to hire in this regard.

Quebec's aim is to make it easier to carry out projects in the energy and wind power sectors.

Breaking down barriers between trades

The reform also addresses another contentious issue: the decompartmentalization of trades.

This has been a demand from employers for several years, saying they feel that the professions are too "compartmentalized."

The regulations will be amended to establish conditions under which the principle of multi-skilling certain workers can be implemented by setting out the work and trades that may not be subject to task-sharing for safety reasons.

The reform also aims to promote access to the industry for people who are under-represented, such as visible minorities, Indigenous people, immigrants and people with disabilities.

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 1, 2024.