Reach a deal by Monday or we'll force you back to work, Couillard warns construction workers

The Quebec government won't let the province-wide construction workers' strike drag on — Premier Philippe Couillard will table back-to-work legislation Monday if the two sides don't come to an agreement before then.

About 175,000 workers are off the job after talks between employers and unions sides broke down late Tuesday night, bringing projects across the province to a halt.

"We can't let the economy bleed $45 million dollars each day," said Couillard from Israel where he is on a trade mission.

• With workers on strike, Quebec construction sites have gone quiet. Here are the big ones

With looming back-to-work legislation, parties are expected to resume talks Thursday evening in Montreal.

"I can tell you that all sectors will return to the negotiating table in the next hours," Michel Trépanier, a spokesperson for the alliance of unions, told Radio-Canada.

Labour Minister Dominique Vien has made it clear she would prefer a signed agreement, but would resort to a special law if need be.

• Flash mob' pickets seek out sites not complying with construction strike
• What you need to know about the special law that could end Quebec's construction strike

Workers in the industrial sector are asking for more stable work schedules, while salaries are believed to be the main sticking point in the residential sector.

The workers have been without a collective agreement since April 30. 

Employers ready to negotiate

François-William Simard, who represents one of construction employers' groups, said they were ready to begin negotiating in September, but the union only agreed to meet with them in March.

"Since the very beginning, they were going [toward] a general strike, because they didn't really want to negotiate," he said.

Éric Côté, a spokesperson for the Association de la construction du Québec (ACQ) who is negotiating on behalf of the employers, said they are ready to head back to table. 

"If the union wants to talk and wants to be serious and find a deal, they have a right to make their demonstration, but we have the right to do negotiations," he said. "Where are the negotiators at this moment? All we have is [protesters]."

Protests across the province

Côté was referring to protesters at a rally held being held in Montreal, one of many held across the province as the labour dispute entered its second day.

In Sherbrooke, about 200 people marched down King Street West, chanting and waving signs.

"We have to keep demonstrating our opposition to the employers' demands, but our goal is still to reach a signed agreement," said steelworker Maxime Lapointe-Bélair.

Threat of back-to-work law looms

Trépanier refuted the notion that the union was holding out until they were in a position to strike.

"It's not a tactic. It's never a tactic to send 175,000 people on strike. Never. Our main tactic and our main goal is always going to be a general, global agreement for our members," he said in an interview on CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

• Besieged by construction, Saint-Henri shops dread long general strike

Trépanier said that while the companies are trying to reach sector-by-sector agreements because they feel it's an easier way to resolve the dispute, the unions want an agreement for their members to ensure they're all covered under the same terms.

They are also asking for a pay raise of 2.6 per cent, which includes their pension and insurance. That raise is more than the rate of inflation, which is at 1.6 per cent, but Trépanier said he believes it's a reasonable request.

Trépanier said while he is satisfied with the labour minister's level of involvement, he doesn't like the looming threat of back-to-work legislation.

'Flash mobs,' dormant work sites

Tensions remain high — some job sites that stayed open became the target of a sudden "flash mob" style picketing Wednesday.

Several employer groups insist Quebec's "anti-scab" law does not apply to workers in the construction industry, so sites could stay open if workers agree.

The new Champlain Bridge and the long overdue new building for Montreal's French superhospital are among the projects affected by the strike.

This is the second general strike in the Quebec construction industry in four years.