William Dale
Published online July 15, 2026, at www.pontiacjournal.com.
FORT-COULONGE — The Municipality of Fort-Coulonge has signed its first collective agreement with municipal employees, concluding a year of negotiations. Signed June 22, the five-year contract makes Fort-Coulonge the first municipality in the MRC Pontiac, outside the MRC administration itself, to negotiate a union agreement.
Mayor Pierre Cyr, who was elected in November, inherited stalled negotiations after the municipality lost its entire office staff and building inspector amid workplace issues. Cyr said he believed the municipality’s original negotiating position placed too great a burden on taxpayers and that the union was initially unwilling to revisit concessions he considered excessive.
To break the impasse, the union requested the appointment of a conciliator through Quebec’s Ministry of Labour. After six to eight conciliation sessions over two months, the two sides reached a compromise.
Although Cyr said he does not believe well-managed small municipalities necessarily require union representation, he said the agreement ultimately strikes a balance between fair treatment for employees and responsible stewardship of taxpayers’ money.
“I think it’s a good agreement for the employees, and we also did a good job protecting taxpayers,” he said.
To protect the municipal budget, management reviewed 10 collective agreements from municipalities across Quebec, focusing on three unionized communities of comparable size. The review led to targeted wage adjustments for underpaid positions while introducing changes intended to control long-term costs.
The agreement includes a 12 per cent salary increase for the administrative technician to reflect expanded responsibilities and a seven per cent market adjustment for the water treatment technician to bring the position in line with regional averages. Employees will receive annual wage increases of 2.5 per cent over the life of the agreement. Cyr said employees will also receive a retroactive 0.5 per cent adjustment for 2025 to correct a payroll error that had set the annual increase at two per cent instead of the intended 2.5 per cent.
Several provisions were negotiated to reduce long-term operating costs. Blue-collar employees agreed to reduce their standard work week from 40 hours to 37 hours, a change Cyr said will offset winter overtime costs by providing weekend maintenance coverage without additional expense. Weekend standby compensation has also been changed from paid time off to a financial premium.
The agreement also revises employee leave provisions. Sick leave was reduced from the union’s original proposal to 10 days, bringing it in line with regional norms, while employees will also receive 12 statutory holidays and two personal days. Employees will now qualify for four weeks of annual vacation after five years instead of eight.
“Nowadays, getting four weeks off after five years is becoming the norm,” Cyr said.
The collective agreement remains in effect until Dec. 31, 2029.
Photo – Officials and union representatives gather to sign Fort-Coulonge’s first collective agreement on June 22. From left are Councillor Gaétan Graveline, Mayor Pierre Cyr, municipal employees and union representatives Alex Ladouceur and Michel Ladouceur, and interim director general Ken Bérubé. (Municipality of Fort-Coulonge)
