17.4 Percent Raise Over 5 Years for Quebec’s ‘Common Front’ Public Sector Unions

Around 420,000 Quebec public sector workers will receive salary increases of 17.4 percent over five years. The labour alliance representing the workers confirmed on Jan. 3 the settlement that led to a Dec. 28 agreement in principle with the provincial government. The agreement includes a clause that would protect the purchasing power of union members during the three final years of the deal. The alliance—known as the “common front”—had been seeking a three-year contract that would have tied wage raises to the consumer price index, plus an additional increase of two to four percent. Union leaders representing workers in sectors such as education and health care are evaluating the offer, which will be presented to members during assemblies that should begin mid-January....