Over the last several weeks, the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) has sent out almost 182,000 vacation cheques to Québec construction workers. A total of more than $553 million has been distributed.

As we know, every month employers pay benefits into the CCQ for sick leave, paid statutory holidays, and vacations, as set out in the collective agreements. These amounts represent 13% of the salary earned by workers during each workweek.

The complete table of amounts paid out and the number of cheques issued per region is available on the CCQ’s website.

This year, there has been a 10% increase in the total value of payments compared to the amounts paid out last year ($503 million). This variation is explained mainly by the impressive recovery of activity on construction sites in 2021.

In fact, the number of hours worked in the construction industry increased by 21% over 2020, reaching 196.2 million hours. This is the highest volume of activity ever recorded, outpacing the peak of 177 million hours reached in 2019.

This year, the two weeks of the construction holiday will officially begin on Sunday, July 24, and end on Saturday, August 6, inclusive.

This vacation is obligatory for all of the construction industry, in all sectors.

However, the collective agreements in force in the industry set out exclusions to the summer vacation, including work planned in the civil engineering and roadwork sector. In addition, emergency work, repairs, maintenance, renovations, and modifications may continue.

In total, about 80% of the workforce – workers and employers – are on vacation during these two weeks. In 2021, the construction industry comprised more than 190,000 employees and just over 26,500 employers.