Nearly 200,000 Quebec construction workers will be on vacation during what’s called ‘Construction Holidays’ in the province. Many will be off as of 12 p.m. on Friday, July 19 – for two weeks.
The workers have already received their vacation pay, with a $30 million increase compared to last year, according to the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ).
The total compensation for the paid holiday totals over $647 million, up from the $617 million in 2023.
There are 193,065 construction workers in Quebec that will receive this direct deposit, with 18,947 in Montreal and 51,207 in the Laval-Laurentians-Lanaudière region.
Their holiday paychecks represents 13 per cent of their salary during each work week between July and December 2023.
For example, a crane operator will get a check of around $5,097, since their average annual salary is $78,410.
Quebec legislated the annual holiday in 1970 for the construction industry, which starts on the second to last Sunday of July and lasts two weeks.