Quebec construction workers to protest possible delays in health and safety provisions implementation

A construction worker works from a lift in a new housing development in Ottawa on Friday, Oct. 14, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

Construction workers, and workers from other sectors, will demonstrate in front of the health workers' health and safety board (CNESST) offices in Montreal on Tuesday to ensure that there is no postponement of the future occupational health and safety provisions coming into effect on Jan. 1.

These provisions, contained in the health and safety reform adopted by Minister of Labour Jean Boulet a little over a year ago, include the designation of health and safety representatives on construction sites. Their number will vary according to the size of the site.

However, construction employers' associations have complained about the timetable, the time to prepare, the training and the costs that this will entail.

The Corporation des entrepreneurs généraux, for example, says it is "multiplying its efforts with the government and the CNESST (Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail) to make the transition to the new system easier."

The five major construction union organizations are therefore organizing a demonstration on Tuesday to invite the CNESST "not to give in to employer pressure" by postponing or easing the application of health and safety provisions in construction.

The FTQ-Construction, the Conseil provincial du Québec des métiers de la construction (International), the Syndicat québécois de la construction, the CSD-Construction and the CSN-Construction will be supported by workers from other unions.

'READY FOR FOUR DECADES'

"We've been ready and waiting for these provisions for 40 years," said Simon Lévesque, head of health and safety at the FTQ-Construction, in an interview.

He said that as of Jan. 1, construction workers will be better protected by the presence of these health and safety representatives.

"It has proven itself; it worked in the mines, where there was a rate of work-related deaths and injuries (which was) the equivalent of construction. And they have improved a lot," said Lévesque. "These mechanisms have proven their worth because they require the involvement of workers. The workers know their work environment well, and they know what is dangerous on construction sites, and they are able to identify it."

Although some contractors have asked for more flexibility and delays, the unions are maintaining their position.

"I have confidence in the CNESST. In any case, I don't believe that the CNESST can give in. The mission of the CNESST is not to give in on the Occupational Health and Safety Act; it is to enforce it," said Lévesque.

The demonstration on Tuesday, from 11 a.m. to noon, is therefore also aimed at employers, he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 12, 2022.