About a quarter of Quebec workers take vacations on Friday, and many plan to have a good time in Quebec or elsewhere in the world despite runaway inflation.
• Also read: A well-deserved holiday for workers affected by the climatic disturbances of recent weeks
• Also read: Construction holidays… not everyone can afford it
• Also read: An electrician on vacation will run a solo ultramarathon
Quebec’s economy slows during the construction holidays, as an estimated one-fourth of the active workforce takes vacations during this time, according to the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ).
Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montreal / QMI Agency
“We’re not going to spend any money this year,” says Pierre-Marc Caouette, a heavy equipment operator from Quebec. The house and groceries cost us more so we stay home and enjoy the pool.”
More than half (57%) of people surveyed by CAA-Quebec say they will spend their weeks off in Quebec. 16% of them will travel to countries other than Canada and the United States, twice as much as in 2022.
Among overseas destinations, Europe is the most popular for provincial vacationers. 9% of them will go there, mainly in France, Spain and Italy.
Recording of holiday vouchers under construction
This year, even more workers in Quebec will be putting away tools for the next two weeks. More than 192,000 construction leave checks were issued, totaling nearly $617 million. That is 12% more than in the previous year.
This fluctuation is mainly explained by the number of hours worked in 2022, which exceeded forecasts and reached an all-time high of 210.2 million hours worked.
Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montreal / QMI Agency
“That is an increase of 7% compared to the previous year. This is good news for the industry, but it also brings challenges, particularly with regard to labor shortages. It becomes problematic for employers as some are forced to refuse contracts,” said Marie-Noëlle Deblois, spokeswoman for the CCQ.
Well-deserved break
Building holidays were officially introduced by government decree in 1970. They were immediately incorporated into the working conditions agreed between employers and workers before officially coming into force in the summer of 1971.
Le Journal met with eligible workers at major construction sites in Montreal and Quebec over the past few days and said they were impatient for that respite.
Pierre-Paul Poulin / Le Journal de Montreal / QMI Agency
“The last few weeks have been intense [en raison de la mauvaise qualité de l’air]. Let’s say we were really tired on Friday,” said Alexandre Lebelle, a construction worker who works on a residential lot in Montreal.
In the capital, the torrential rains and stifling heat of July thwarted worker Maxime Poitras’ motivation. The latter claims he’s tired of “spending his days in the rain or in the blazing sun” and wants to use the holidays to regain his strength.
-In collaboration with Diane Tremblay and Marianne Langlois
Can you share information about this story with us?
Write to us or call us directly at 1-800-63SCOOP.