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Canadian HR Reporter, a Thomson Reuters business 2014
trend rePort
September 22, 2014
Facts and trends
We've compiled the common trends and wage adjustments for certain sectors to
provide a snapshot of collective agreements being negotiated across the country.
This week, we take a look at the construction and education industries.
Construction
Twenty-five collective agreements were covered by CLR in the
construction industry between September 2013 and Septem-
ber 2014. The average wage increase sits at 5.63 per cent over
20 agreements signed in the past year. The highest pay rise was
12.5 per cent, negotiated at the Saint John Construction Asso-
ciation for 120 masonry workers. In five of those agreements,
wage adjustments took the form of monetary compensation
(as opposed to a percentage), and ranged from an additional
10ยข per hour to $1.20 per hour.
The average life span of an agreement was 3.75 years. Thus,
the average yearly wage hike for the industry was 1.5 per cent.
While the number and types of occupations in the construc-
tion industry range widely, we've come up with an overview of
the average hourly base wages for some of the most common
jobs on a construction site.
Journeyman:
$30.83
Carpenter: $35.76
electrician: $41.23
Mechanic: $38.99
Most collective agreements in the construction sector in-
clude an accommodation allowance clause. This provision
provides a monthly or bi-weekly allowance for workers who
are required to work for extended periods of time at a remote
location, such as Fort McMurray, Alta., that is a considerable
distance from the employee's place of residence.
per hour
education
Sixteen agreements in the public sector elementary and sec-
ondary school districts across the country were covered by
CLR between September 2013 and September 2014.
$500 - $1,400
Of those 20 agreements 16
came with wage hikes. Others did
not include wage adjustments but
instead included signing bonuses,
which ranged from
A teacher's salary is determined
through a number of factors, in-
cluding years of experience and
years of education they them-
selves have achieved. From Sep-
tember 2013 to September 2014,
the average starting salary for a
teacher in Canada was
7.5 %
Of those 16 agreements, the av-
erage wage increase was 3.39 per
cent. The highest wage increase
was negotiated at the Chignecto-
Central School Board, in Pictou,
N.S., with an increase of
0.8 %
The average life span for an
agreement was 4.3 years. Given
that, the average yearly increase
for a teacher would be
$63,548
