The management of collective bargaining in the public and parapublic sectors is fraught with challenges. To address these challenges, on June 6, the Québec government adopted the Act respecting the negotiation and determination of conditions of employment requiring national coordination in particular in the public and parapublic sectors (the “Act”). Effective immediately, the Act replaces the Act respecting the process of negotiation of the collective agreements in the public and parapublic sectors. With this Act, the government aims to enhance the consistency and efficiency of the process leading to the establishment of conditions of employment requiring national coordination in the public and parapublic sectors, while strengthening its control over the monetary aspects of negotiations that impact public finances. This aim is reflected in the introduction of a new national coordination framework. In this article, we outline the key elements of the Act.
New national coordination framework
The chair of the Conseil du trésor has a new central role to play in planning and conducting collective bargaining in the public and parapublic sectors covered by the Act. Among other things, the chair is now responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy to establish the conditions of employment requiring national coordination.
In the education, higher education, and health and social services sectors, the notion of “clauses negotiated at the national level” is replaced by “conditions of employment requiring national coordination”. Unlike its predecessor, which listed the matters that had to be negotiated locally, the Act takes the opposite approach by listing the matters that are now subject to national coordination, namely:
- salaries, salary scales, and job classifications used to determine those salaries and scales;
- group insurance;
- pension plans; and
- parental rights.
By default, these matters are negotiated by the chair of the Conseil du trésor on behalf of the employers. However, the Act allows the government to designate another sectoral negotiator, except in matters relating to salaries, salary scales, and job classifications, which must be negotiated by the chair of the Conseil du trésor.
In the education, higher education, and health and social services sectors, negotiation of other matters not subject to national coordination is the responsibility of a sectoral negotiator designated in the Act. For example, for French-language school service centres, this power has been granted to the Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports; this means that, from now on, French-language school service centres will no longer have the power to negotiate and conclude local agreements. Note, however, that some local agreements are still possible, despite the introduction of this new centralized framework.
Negociation process
The Act establishes a new framework for collective bargaining whose aim is to determine the conditions of employment covered by collective agreements or other group agreements. In particular, it stipulates that, no later than 150 days before the expiry of a collective agreement or its equivalent, the union must send its proposals on all the matters to be negotiated in writing to the chair of the Conseil du Trésor or the sectoral negotiator. The person negotiating on behalf of the employer then has 60 days from receipt of these proposals to submit their own suggestions.
Other noteworthy changes
A few other changes introduced by the Act warrant special attention.
- The Labour Code is amended to abolish the three-year maximum term of collective agreements in the public and parapublic sectors;
- The Act respecting bargaining units in the social affairs sector is amended, in particular to:
- Re-establish the maximum of four bargaining units per health and social services institution and per administrative unit of Santé Québec; and
- Ensure that employees retain their seniority when they move from one bargaining unit formed within an employer in the health and social services sector to another such unit;
- The Act will allow the negotiating parties, at any stage of the negotiations, to ask the Minister of Labour to designate a conciliator to help them reach an agreement.
Key takeaways
Heralded as a real turning point in the management of labour relations in the public and parapublic sectors, the adoption of the Act will inevitably have significant repercussions for all players involved in the collective bargaining process. The Act marks a major recentralization of collective bargaining in the public and parapublic sectors. It aims to strengthen national consistency, give government greater control over the financial considerations arising from labour agreements, and clarify the roles of government and union players.
The provisions of the Act came into force on June 6, 2025, with a few exceptions. Any negotiations already underway on that date regarding expired conditions of employment which, under the Act, require national coordination, will continue in accordance with the applicable provisions at the time they began.
The authors would like to thank Victoria Forest, articling student, for her valuable contributions to this article.