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Quebec Residential Construction Workers Strike Over Wage Deadlock

The union rejected the employer’s final proposal as insufficient to keep pace with living costs

Overview

  • The strike began at midnight on May 28 after last-minute talks between the union alliance and the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l’habitation du Québec collapsed
  • The employer offered an 18 percent wage increase spread over four years in hopes of ending the work stoppage
  • Union negotiators are demanding raises of 22 percent for crews on five-to-six storey buildings and 24.3 percent for those on smaller projects
  • Only residential construction workers have walked off the job, even though the alliance represents roughly 200,000 workers across multiple construction sectors
  • The stoppage threatens to delay housing developments in Montreal, Pointe-Claire and other regions as deadlines for new residential projects approach