The statistics are clear: Quebec’s public service is increasingly struggling to retain its employees. In several sectors, voluntary departure rates have risen significantly over the past two years, approaching 20% in some places, such as the Department of Education.
In 2022-2023, as many as 18.5% of the Ministry of Education’s workforce voluntarily left their jobs, compared to 11.9% in 2020-2021.
In the Ministry of Cybersecurity and Digital Affairs, the rate of voluntary departures reached 18.1% last year, although the creation of this ministry is still very recent, dating back to January 2022.
At the Department of Health and Human Services, the voluntary resignation rate rose from 12.32% two years ago to 16.26% last year.
Radio-Canada was able to see these worrying statistics in the annual reports of the Quebec government’s ministries and agencies presented in the National Assembly on Tuesday.
The number of voluntary departures includes retirements and transfers, but several ministries and organizations admit in their annual reports that the observed increase is largely due to the large number of resignations of civil servants.
This is particularly the case at the Sûreté du Québec (SQ), where more than 15% of civilian employees left the company last year. The same applies to the Société de l’assurance automobile du Québec (SAAQ), where the rate of voluntary departures is now almost 14%.
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The year 2022-2023 was particularly marked by problems with the introduction of SAAQClic on the SAAQ.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Charlotte Dumoulin
The voluntary departure rate for the 2022-2023 fiscal year is higher than in the previous two years, we can read in the annual report of the Ministry of the Environment, which shows a rate of 12.6%.
This is primarily due to the higher number of layoffs among permanent staff.
It’s a huge prize!
For years, the Quebec Public and Parapublic Service Union (SFPQ) has been sounding the alarm about staff retention issues. Reading the latest statistics, the President General can only see an intensification of the phenomenon.
It’s a huge prize! We’re not just talking about increases of 1 or 2%, regrets Christian Daigle.
In his opinion, the rates of voluntary departures recorded in 2022-2023 are evidence that Quebec’s public service has become a school club, serving as a springboard for employees who then make the leap into the municipal, federal or private sectors dare to work there better working conditions.
This is important and shows what we have been denouncing for years; The government has done nothing to correct the situation.
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Christian Daigle, president general of the Quebec Public and Parapublic Service Union
Photo: Radio-Canada
According to Mr Daigle, the risks arising from this retention problem are real, as several ministries and organizations provide direct services to the population, such as the SAAQ, the SQ or the Ministry of Transport.
Amid negotiations to renew collective agreements in the public sector and public services, Mr. Daigle sees this as another argument to persuade Quebec to loosen the purse strings.
“We hope for major financial stimulus from the government to retain civil servants and employees and also attract new people,” he said.
The Quebec Government Professionals’ Union (SPGQ) describes the situation as catastrophic for its members, as they continue to be overburdened with all the risks this poses to their mental health.
We also need to understand that in many cases consultants are actually paid much more, even if they do not have proper training. Under these conditions, the temptation to switch to the private sector is strong.
Advantages of “being known”
In a written statement, the office of the President of the Ministry of Finance, Sonia LeBel, reminds that the public service is not spared from the labor shortage. The company states that it is therefore normal for there to be movement.
The government is also in dispute with the unions over the working conditions of its civil servants.
The benefits of public service include measures such as teleworking, career opportunities and affordable retirement provision. It should be noted that the total compensation of government employees is 3.9% higher than that of the private sector.
However, Cabinet recognizes that there is clearly a challenge today in communicating the benefits of the public service to younger people, adding that the Public Service Human Resources Management Strategy 2023-2028 will be presented shortly.
However, SPGQ first vice president Annie Morin has a different interpretation of civil servants’ working conditions.
According to Quebec’s Institute of Statistics, wage differentials systematically have a detrimental effect on government professionals. They are almost 15% with those of other public services [gouvernement fédéral, entreprises publiques, municipalités et universités] and 9% for those in the private sector, she says.