Unlimited strike by government engineers has begun [Video]

The indefinite strike by Quebec government engineers officially began at 5 p.m. Thursday after the parties failed to reach an agreement on renewing the collective agreement.

The 2,000 engineers, members of the Association professionnelle des ingénieurs du gouvernement du Québec (APIGQ), primarily work in the Ministry of Transport, but also in Environment, Cybersecurity, Municipal Affairs, Agriculture, and Natural Resources.

Approximately 490 of them may be assigned to essential services, including infrastructure interventions.

The dispute centers on wages, the use of private-sector outsourcing, the flexibility requested, and the engineers’ professional autonomy.

Last week, Treasury Board President Sonia LeBel’s office emphasized that agreements have already been reached with “98 per cent of employees in the public and parapublic sectors” to date.

“We hope to reach an agreement with the government engineers as well,” she said, adding that essential services will be maintained as needed.

But APIGQ President Marc-André Martin accuses the government …