2023-08-04 04:00:00
Wage increases of up to 53% for automotive trades will hurt the wallets of Quebecers, who will have to pay more to have their vehicle repaired.
“It’s boring to pay a more expensive bill at the garage,” says Pascal Côté, a jeweler who came to have his car repaired at Garage Luneau, in Saint-Hyacinthe, on Thursday.
“I know it had been years since there had been any raises [importantes] salary”, adds the father of the family, who has a good friend who works in a repair shop.
On Wednesday, a decree boosted the wages of 25% of autoworkers in the Quebec region.
In the Montreal region, average increases of 36% are expected – they reach 44% or even 53% in certain job categories.
For garage owner Daniel Luneau, it was a matter of time before wages increased.
Garage owner Daniel Luneau and his wife, Nathalie Gadbois, expect repair prices to rise. Photo Francis Halin
“There was a salary backlog of 30 years or 40 years. This is good news for workers. For customers, a little less”, sums up the entrepreneur.
“It will be reflected in our hourly rate, and it is the customers who will pay,” agrees his wife, Nathalie Gadbois.
She argues that mechanics can earn $22 an hour out of school, while electricians and plumbers fetch $30 or $32 an hour.
Jump in the hourly rate
For Stéphane Bélisle, administrator of the Association of Tire and Mechanical Specialists of Quebec (ASPMQ), the effect of the salary increases will be felt quickly.
“It’s clear that the customer’s bill will increase,” he observes. In April 2018, the hourly rate might be around $85 per hour, a year later $95. This month, we found $115 per hour and even $125 per hour. It is clear that the customer’s bill will increase,” he observes.
In April 2018, the hourly rate might be around $85 per hour, a year later $95. This month, we found $115 per hour and even $125 per hour.
According to him, it is the little ones who will pay the price. “We hear more and more the story of mechanics who are already closing, for lack of employees,” he says.
“Before, small mechanics did not close in the summer. Now, many are forced to close, so as not to burn their employees, ”he says.
At Groupe Monaco, Patrick Saint-Pierre, a member of the Quebec division of the Automotive Industries Association of Canada (AIA Canada), is more nuanced.
“Over the next four years, there will be 8% more retirements in Quebec than new workers on the market, so there will be upward pressure on wages,” he analyzes.
“For too long, the automotive trades have not been recognized at their true value,” he believes.
construction holidays
But for François Vincent, vice-president for Quebec at the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the pill does not pass.
“We are announcing wage increases in the midst of construction holidays. It weakens the smallest business,” he retorts.
He recalls, survey in support, that in 73% of cases, when there are salary increases in business, the bill is passed on to customers.
Remember that last June, The newspaper reported that the cost of a claim rose on average from $4,951 in 2019 to $5,918 in 2021, up 20%, according to the Groupement des assureurs automobiles (GAA).
In 2002, The newspaper already showed that the explosion in the price of vehicle replacement parts has forced repairers and mechanics to raise repair costs to the point where the average auto insurance premium has increased by 38% since 2015.
– With the collaboration of Sylvain Larocque
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Hourly repair rate
Canadian Tire (Montréal)
Avril 2018 : 84,95 $
November 2019: $94.95
August 2023: $114.95
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Examples of salary increases in Montreal
Companions
Expected salary by the end of 2023: $27.93/hr (+27% vs. 2022)
Parts clerk
Expected salary by the end of 2023: $23.77/hr (+44% vs. 2022)
Examples of wage increases in Quebec
Apprentice
Current salary: $17.16/h (+24% compared to February)
Service attendant
Current salary: $18.99/h (+24% compared to February)
(Source: Government of Quebec)
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