The private sector closes the wage gap with the Quebec public administration

The FTQ union president says the pay gap will make it more difficult to attract employees in the public service.

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Quebec civil service employees lost their slight salary advantage this year over private sector employees, an advantage they have had for 10 years, and are still paid 25 percent less than other public service employees.

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That’s according to a report released Tuesday by the Institut de la statistique du Québec (ISQ). Quebec government employees had total compensation 9.4 percent lower than other Quebec workers in companies of at least 200 people. That’s close to the 9.2 percent difference found in 2020, but more than the 6.1 percent gap in 2012.

The gap poses a threat to public services during labor shortages, said Daniel Boyer, president of the labor federation Fédération des travailleurs et travailleuses du Québec. “We have to fix it sometime. Otherwise, we will have more and more difficulties in attracting and retaining competent workers to offer services to the population ”.

The situation is different when compared to employees in the private sector and those in other public administrations.

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In 2021, Quebec public employees had an overall salary 1.6 percent lower than that of private sector employees. The ISQ said that this small difference is essentially parity. In 2012, public employees had a small advantage of 3.3%.

The gap with the private sector risks widening amid a labor shortage that allows employees to improve their working conditions, Boyer said.

“We will find more and more social advantages in the private sector because people are more aware that work-life balance is important and vacations are important.”

The gap persists between Quebec civil service employees and other public sector employees, including those at universities, municipalities with at least 25,000 inhabitants, and federal government employees in Quebec. In 2021, Quebec government employees received 27.5 percent less compensation, roughly the same as in 2020 (28.3 percent) and 2012 (26.2 percent).

The province will need to address this issue in the next round of negotiations to maintain services, Boyer said. Collective agreements for most civil service employees end on March 23, 2023.

The unions will present their demands in October 2022 to begin negotiations. At FTQ, the consultation process with members will begin soon.