With large companies in the leading sectors posting a turnover rate often below 5%, the workforce in the greater Montreal area is remarkably stable. This unsurpassed level of stability in Québec’s specialized workforce represents a significant cost advantage, particularly with respect to the United States, where turnover is much higher.

In recent years, intensified global competition has led Québec businesses and unions to cooperate more closely in seeking innovative approaches to labor relations. As a result of these efforts, labor relations are increasingly taking the form of a true partnership between employers and employees. In addition, employers and unions are committing to long-term collective agreements more frequently, a move that favors operational stability, enhanced productivity, labor cost forecasts and increased investments.

More recently, the two main Québec union confederations have created a venture capital fund to boost investments in business and contribute to economic development in Québec, a move that illustrates another facet of the growing partnership between employers and unions and their commitment to work together.