Living la
Vie Syndiquée
A guide to your bureaucratic future with the Gouvernement du Québec
How to Apply: Quebec.ca
To join Team Blue, filter by location, salary, ministry and more.
Open PortalAdvantages/Disadvantages
Four weeks vacation!
Unused sick time (10 days a year) is also paid out at the end of the contract. That's good!
Salary growth
Entry-level is paid less but staying in the same job is rewarded through greater salary growth
Education Leave
Paid full-time education is in some cases possible. Many ministries are very supportive of continuing education
Lowest pay
Pay is lower than the federal and municipal levels, particularly for the trades, but across all job categories
Professionals
Includes Agronomists, Architects, Translators (-$) and Lawyers (+$)
Technicians
Administrative Support
Front desk staff and Secretaries
Trades
Professors
Medical Doctors
Contracts
Although Quebec and the city of Montreal have larger job categories (e.g. professional, technician), this doesn’t seem to be the case for the federal government.
Another job type to note is “casual,” “term,” and “indeterminate.” Casual means a contract of less than 90 days. A term appointment or contract is temporary but longer, whereas an indeterminate contract is a permanent position (i.e. hard to fire). The Quebec government refers to these as occasionnel (term) and permanent (avec droit de rappel)..
| Job Type | Duration | Federal name |
|---|---|---|
| Surnuméraire | Maximum of one year | Casual |
| Occasionnel | Less than four years | Term |
| Régulier / permanent | Basically until retirement | Indeterminate |
Salary Progression
The Examination System
It used to be that one had to complete an examination to be considered for Québec public sector jobs. But it was impossible to figure out how or when.
Now, new recruits are granted a one-year contract, without benefits (e.g. insurance) to facilitate the successful completion of a byzantine formal entry examination. Failure to pass results in contract termination.