Province close to settling contracts with public employees
But negotiations with engineers, lawyers, notaries remain at an impasse
The Quebec government has reached an agreement in principle with the province’s 400 wildlife protection officers, bringing it to the verge of contract settlements with 510,000 public-sector workers, or 96 per cent of the total.
But negotiations with government engineers, lawyers and notaries remain at an impasse.
Treasury Board president Pierre Moreau announced the latest agreement on Thursday.
The deal with the wildlife protection officers is within the parameters of other agreements reached with public-sector workers and police and includes a 5.25 per cent pay increase spread over five years.
Last week, 1,400 government engineers massively rejected a “final and global” salary offer from the government and threatened to resume their strike.
The members of the Association professionnelle des ingénieurs du gouvernement du Québec (APIGQ) are seeking a 20 per cent pay increase over seven years. However, Moreau made it clear Thursday that isn’t on the table.
“The counter-offer tabled on Tuesday (by the union) is totally unacceptable because it is neither reasonable nor proportionate,” Moreau said. “If the union thinks the best response to this situation is to call a strike or engage in pressure tactics, the government will take its responsibilities.”
Moreau said back-to-work legislation “doesn’t take very long to write.”
Meanwhile, negotiations with the 18,000 members of the union of government professionals are proceeding smoothly, Moreau said, although talks with government lawyers and notaries have stalled.
A report filed Thursday said mediation between the government lawyers and the government had failed.
Jean Denis, head of the union representing the legal professionals, said the report’s findings were predictable, since legislation adopted last February forcing the membership back to work didn’t permit real negotiations to take place.