City of Montreal | Abolished bonuses transformed into salary

Three months after announcing the abolition of bonuses for its 1,800 executives, the Plante administration agreed to pay them an equivalent sum from their paycheck, we learned. The Press. Montreal argues that the law requires it, but the opposition protests.

At the end of negotiations to renew their employment agreement, municipal executives will benefit from a recurring increase of 3.5% in their salary which represents “the monetary envelope (previously) planned for bonuses”, said welcomed their association in an internal press release dated at the end of March. This increase is in addition to a negotiated salary increase of 2.15% for 2024 and 2.5% for 2025.

The employer’s proposal, including these increases, was accepted “by a very large majority” by executives at the general meeting, the document continues.

In December, Valérie Plante and her general manager, Serge Lamontagne, assured that the bonuses granted for the year 2023 would be “the last”. No one had specified that this money would simply be integrated into the executives’ salaries.

“We would have complaints in court”

Luc Rabouin, number two in the Plante administration, argued that the City could not simply abolish the bonuses without offering compensation to executives. “We cannot reduce their remuneration, we have no right to do that. The law prevents us from doing that,” explained Mr. Rabouin on Sunday in a telephone interview. “We would have complaints to the Administrative Court and we would not win. »

“I understand that it can be surprising, that’s why it’s important to explain it,” added the elected official.

Luc Rabouin emphasizes that the salary increase of 2.15% negotiated in 2024 and 2.5% for 2025 is much less than the increases negotiated in the provincial public service last fall. Furthermore, “we worked hard to argue that the City is not capable of providing inflation, we do not have the means”.

“For 2024, the cost of the new provisions is 6.75 million in 2024 and 10.75 million in 2025,” said publicist Gonzalo Nunez by email. He insisted on the need to be competitive in the job market. Mr. Rabouin added that the City was struggling to recruit executives, because professionals do not want to make the jump and lose certain advantages.

The agreement also provides for the City to add 3 million annually to improve group insurance, better paid overtime, as well as an “uncapping” of salary scales of up to 120% “for high performers”.

“New bonuses”

The official opposition “deplores the decision of the Plante administration which secretly implemented new bonuses for executives of the City of Montreal, a few months after announcing the end of these bonuses,” declared the mayor of borough Alan DeSousa in writing.

Mr. DeSousa also argued that this decision comes at a very bad time, when “the finances of the City of Montreal are in the red”. At the last municipal council, the elected official had Valérie Plante’s finance manager, Luc Rabouin, admit that he was preparing a rationalization scenario where municipal services would have to be content with a budgetary freeze for 2025, which implies a reduction of the number of positions.

The two largest municipal unions said they were surprised by the agreement. “The City clearly shows me that there is money,” reacted Patrick Dubois, president of the white-collar union. “We expect the same thing. » “If there is money for executives, that means there is money for the workers who provide the services,” said Jean-Pierre Lauzon, president of the blue-collar workers.

The Association of Municipal Executives of Montreal (ACMM) did not want to comment on the matter.