MONTREAL – This Saturday marks the end of the union vote in the construction industry – a vote that is held once every four years.
More than 211,400 workers were invited to choose the union they wanted to join from among the five recognized by the law governing the industry.
The union vote was held from June 3 to 22, after a period of raiding during which the five unions could campaign to attract or retain these workers.
Those who have not exercised their right to vote are presumed to want to maintain the union allegiance they already have — this is called presumption of allegiance.
The counting of votes will take place from June 25. And the new representativeness of unions will come into force on September 1.
At the end of the last election in 2020, the FTQ-Construction represented 43% of workers, the Quebec Provincial Council of Construction Trades (International) 23%, the Quebec Construction Union 19%, the CSD-Construction 9 % and CSN-Construction 6%.
The Quebec Construction Commission explains that “the union representativeness of the different associations determines the relative weight of each when the time comes to ratify the collective agreements at the end of the negotiations following the vote.”
The 2021-2025 collective agreements currently in force will expire on April 30. The four employers’ associations and the five trade union associations will therefore have to tackle the task of renewing them.
Four agreements must be negotiated: one in the residential sector, one in the civil engineering and roads sector, one in the industrial sector and one in the institutional and commercial sector.
To be applicable in a sector, a collective agreement must be ratified by the employer party of the sector concerned and at least three union associations which represent more than 50% of workers in the industry, specifies the Construction Commission.
#Canada
