MONTREAL -- Even though five Quebec construction unions have theoretically acquired the right to strike, negotiations to renew their collective agreements will continue this weekend.

As a result, there will be no strike action until Tuesday morning at the earliest.

One of the employer associations and the group of five unions, the Alliance Syndicale, confirmed to The Canadian Press that negotiations are even scheduled for Sunday and Monday, despite it being a long weekend due to Quebec Patriots Day.

On Friday and Saturday, management and union parties will remain in their respective camps to refine their proposals in the hope of reaching an agreement.

The parties declined to give interviews, saying the negotiations are entering a delicate period, and the last two negotiations, in 2013 and 2017, were particularly difficult.

Minister of Labour and Employment Jean Boulet said Thursday that Quebec shouldn't repeat another labour dispute in the construction industry while it's in the midst of an economic recovery.

NEGOTIATION POINTS

Four collective agreements for 2021 to 2025 must be negotiated, affecting 190,000 workers throughout Quebec.

The Alliance Syndicale includes the five unions that are recognized in the industry: FTQ-Construction, the Conseil provincial du Quebec des metiers de la construction (International), the Syndicat quebecois de la construction, the CSD-Construction and the CSN-Construction.

Four employer associations, representing sub-sectors of the industry, are on the other side.

The main point of contention is the use of mobile applications to record work hours on a worker's personal cell phone.

The unions say they fear for the privacy of workers, due to geolocation and the use of the workers' personal phones.

The parties are therefore seeking to negotiate clauses to regulate this use of mobile applications, which are provided by third parties.

Wages do not appear to be an issue and progress has been made on pensions and group insurance.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on May 21, 2021.