Quebec residential construction workers striking for ‘equal pay for equal work'
Nearly 1,000 workers from the Alliance syndicale de la construction demonstrated in front of the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l'habitation du Québec (APCHQ) offices to mark the first week of strikes in the residential sector Wednesday.
The event was peaceful, with the slogan 'equal pay for equal work' illustrating their main demand: that the 60,000 residential construction workers receive the same wage increases as construction workers in other sectors, who have all already settled.
The workers made themselves heard with trumpets, horns, percussion and music blaring from loudspeakers. Some of the signs had humorous tones, with slogans like 'if you don't want to pay me, don't make me saw' in French ('si tu veux pas me payer, fais-mois pas scier').
Many workers arrived from the regions by chartered bus; streets had to be closed and bus stops moved due to the size of the protest.
After a week on strike, the workers did not seem discouraged. They gave a standing ovation to the spokesperson for the union alliance, Alexandre Ricard, president of FTQ-Construction.
'It's not true that we're going to be blamed for the increase in housing prices in recent years. There are several factors that make housing expensive today. We are just one factor. We're not the ones who caused these prices to rise,' said Ricard.
'I see lots of contractors attracting (residential) workers by offering them commercial conditions—proof that our demands are fair and reasonable," he told the protesters.
It should be noted that, unlike in other sectors of the economy, construction workers do not receive a retroactive wage increase on the expiry date of the previous collective agreement when it is not renewed. They, therefore, lose money.
Their agreement expired on April 30.
APCHQ and Minister Boulet
The APCHQ commented on the demonstration.
'As the critical date of July 1 approaches, the Association des professionnels de la construction et de l'habitation du Québec is growing impatient with the union alliance's inaction and hopes that the current negotiations will quickly lead to an agreement,' it said.
Ricard responded in turn that, 'Yes, there are discussions at the table. But we need to move forward.'
'It makes no sense to drag this out, because we don't have the right to retroactivity. In the meantime, we are losing money. In the meantime, we also have no anti-strike-breaker law, which is totally unreasonable and also causes friction,' he said.
The anti-strike-breaker provisions of the Labour Code do not apply to the construction industry.
When questioned in Quebec City, Labour Minister Jean Boulet reiterated his offer to resort to arbitration.
Under this process, an arbitrator, who is a neutral third party, determines the content of the collective agreement, thereby ending the labour dispute.
However, both parties must agree to this. The APCHQ has said it is willing to accept, but not the Alliance syndicale, which wants to negotiate its own working conditions.
Minister Boulet himself pointed out that several construction sites were still operating despite the strike.
'Workers can continue to work. Workers are at work,' he said.
He noted that there had been 'incidents here and there where police intervention was required,' but the situation has calmed down.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French June 4, 2025.
Lia Lévesque, The Canadian Press
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