This Friday sees the start of the traditional construction vacations across Quebec. It's estimated that around a quarter of Quebec workers will be off work during this period, which runs until August 5.

According to data collected by the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ), some 80% of the construction workforce will be off work during these two weeks.

From an economic point of view, construction vacations represent a very significant sum. In fact, on June 21, the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) handed out more than 192,000 vacation indemnities to workers in the industry. In all, nearly $617 million was distributed.

This represents a 12% increase in the total value of payouts, compared with last summer's figure of $553 million.

This variation is mainly due to activity on construction sites, which exceeded forecasts in 2022, reaching 210.2 million hours declared. This represents a 7% increase over the previous year, and an all-time high for work governed by Bill R-20.

Employers are responsible for paying the CCQ the monthly indemnities for public holidays and vacations stipulated in collective agreements.

These amounts represent 13% of the wages earned by workers during each work week (vacation, statutory holidays and sick leave). The amounts paid were accumulated between July and December 2022 in the Fonds d'indemnités de congés annuels obligatoires et de jours fériés chômés, which is administered by the CCQ.

Why construction vacations?

Construction vacations as we know them today date back to 1971. However, the introduction of the paid vacation system dates back to 1946, when each region had its own vacation management system.

At that time, the conditions and duration of vacation were different for each region, and as workers often changed employers, managing these systems became increasingly complicated. To simplify matters, a government decree was issued to standardize the dates and conditions of workers' vacations.

"Made official in 1970 by a government decree, the famous construction vacations were written into the working conditions agreed between employers and workers. They took effect for the first time in Quebec in the summer of 1971," according to the CCQ website.

Some sectors will nevertheless remain active during these two weeks, such as roadworks and emergency work.