Quebec signs new collective agreement with civil servants

THe SFPQ office headquarters in Quebec City. (Jacques Boissinot / The Canadian Press)

The Quebec public servants union (SFPQ), which represents 27,000 civil servants, has signed its new collective agreement with the Quebec government.

After 18 months of negotiations, SFPQ president Christian Daigle says he is not breathing a sigh of relief, but is happy to be able to move on to other things: “We're happy to be able to put our energies elsewhere,” he said in an interview on Monday.

Like all government employees, SFPQ members will receive pay rises of 17.4 per cent over five years. The large union, which is independent of the central labour bodies, also claims to have made gains in terms of the right to telework.

Quebec treasury board chair Sonia LeBel was delighted with the signing of the agreement: “We have officially signed the SFPQ collective agreement. It will give civil servants in the public service better conditions, while promoting the retention and maintenance of expertise within the public service.”

As for the reform of the public sector bargaining regime announced by LeBel, Daigle is waiting to see what it will consist of before passing judgment.

However, in his opinion, this does not necessarily mean that the negotiation process will be shortened.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Dec. 9, 2024.