Public sector negotiations: $11 billion more to be paid to civil servants

The wage hike negotiated between the Common Front and the Legault government will cost the state of Quebec an extra $11 billion a year.

• Read More – General Front: In principle contract will be awarded to 420,000 workers

An inter-union panel confirmed last Wednesday that the proposed agreement in principle with the government concluded at the end of December would provide for a 17.4% pay rise over five years.

According to our information, such an increase would cost the government $11 billion a year, which indicated during the negotiations that a 1% increase represents an annual cost of about $600 million.

That's $2 billion more than the government's previous offer, which Quebec estimated at $9 billion a year.

So, if the deal is approved in principle by members of the General Front in the coming weeks, the portion of state spending devoted to the wages of its employees will increase to $70 billion each year, or 60.8% of total government spending. , which amounts to $115 billion per year.

At a press conference on Sunday, General Front leaders announced that details of the package will be presented to members at the General Assembly between January 15 and February 19. For the agreement to become a collective agreement, it must win the support of more than 50% of the 420,000 workers represented by the Inter-Union Group in Education and Health Networks.

In addition to salary increases, the agreement specifically provides for a purchasing power protection clause for the last three years of the employment contract, as well as improving the pension scheme and parental rights scheme.