The agreement in principle reached between the Alliance syndicale de la construction and the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l’habitation du Québec (APCHQ) to renew the collective agreement in the residential construction sector has been ratified by both parties.
The Alliance syndicale, which groups the industry’s five unions, said Thursday that the agreement in principle received the support of 83.4 per cent of members who voted during the voting period.
The APCHQ, for its part, confirmed that employers in the residential sector “voted overwhelmingly in favor” of the terms negotiated for the 2025-2029 collective agreement.
“The APCHQ salutes the support of employers in the residential sector for this agreement, which testifies to the desire for stability, predictability and continuity on construction sites, in a context where Quebec must build more, better and faster to respond to the housing crisis,” stressed the Association in a press release.
The new collective agreement, which takes effect on July 27, provides for an eight per cent wage increase upon signing for the year 2025.
For the years 2026, 2027 and 2028, an arbitration board will be called upon to decide, within the given parameters, which are a minimum of 18 per cent salary increase for the total of the four years and a maximum of 24.35 per cent.
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“We are continuing to work in arbitration to represent our Residential members well, in order to obtain wage increases that will not further widen the gap with other sectors of the industry,” said Alliance syndicale spokesman Alexandre Ricard in a press release.
The new collective agreement also provides for greater flexibility in labour movement clauses, improved travel and room and board expenses, and a five-cent increase in the allowance for safety equipment in the light residential sector.
The two parties also agreed to set up a committee to discuss the attractiveness and retention of personnel in the residential sector.
The agreement in principle between Alliance syndicale and APCHQ was reached on June 18, after a three-week strike.
The residential sector was the only one of the four construction sectors still unable to renew its collective agreement. The other three – civil engineering/roads, industrial and institutional/commercial – had succeeded in renewing their collective agreements before the April 30 deadline.
The Alliance syndicale brings together the five union organizations present in the construction industry, namely, in descending order of importance: the FTQ-Construction, the Syndicat québécois de la construction, the Conseil provincial du Québec des métiers de la construction (International), the CSD-Construction and the CSN-Construction.
The Alliance represents 200,000 construction workers, 63,000 of whom work in the residential sector.
The APCHQ represents 28,000 companies working in residential construction or renovation.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
