Four out of five contracts lack a wage protection clause
The data show wages rose by 2.78% through December 2022, higher than the November average of 2.69% but far below the year-over-year CPI trend, which cooled to 5.8% in December. This result reflects collective bargaining practices tracked by the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy and indicates growth that remains modest relative to inflation. In the Canadian and American contexts, wage settlements often mirror similar balance points between agreements with guaranteed increases and the need to preserve purchasing power for workers.
Because no additional revisions were introduced through wage-guarantee provisions, the 2022 increase appears more moderate and smoother than the 3.6% rise negotiated between government and unions for the interprofessional minimum wage in that period. The 2018-2020 Agreement on Employment and Collective Bargaining proposed roughly 2% plus one extra point tied to productivity, performance, and absenteeism. This framework, though not renewed in 2022 due to stubborn differences about wage review mechanisms, remains a reference point for negotiations in both North American labor markets where inflation pressures affect outcomes.
Most agreements recorded in 2022 began their effectiveness within that same year, even when signed earlier. In 2022, a total of 3,084 collective agreements with economic implications were registered, with only 880 signed that year and yielding an average salary increase of 3.24%. The remaining 2,204 contracts were signed in prior years and carried an average increase of 2.60%. These patterns align with global trends where many deals lock in productivity-linked adjustments and occasional retroactive elements.
Overall, 3,084 contracts were registered in 2022, impacting roughly 9 million workers across the surveyed economy.
Four out of five, no review item
Labor statistics show that most 2022 registrations included a clause to prevent loss of purchasing power, but only 13.2% of the contracts (409 deals) included a wage guarantee provision, with 308 of those applying retroactively. When present, wage-review clauses impacted just over 1.9 million of the 9.04 million workers covered by 2022 contracts, representing about 21% of the total. In Canada and the United States, wage protection practices vary by sector, but a similar pattern emerges where a minority of agreements include explicit guarantee clauses.
It is evident that the majority of workers did not have a protection clause in their collective agreements. This share has declined slightly since late autumn, and it remains notably below peaks seen earlier in the year when such protections exceeded 29%. Contemporary data from comparable economies show similar variability depending on industry and bargaining partners.
Following early 2023 partial data from central banks in North America, just over 45% of workers with contracts signed for 2023 faced potential wage protections, suggesting an ongoing discussion about how to balance automatic increases with price pressures. The introduction of salary review provisions was under discussion, often tied to a broader effort to secure a moderate and predictable pay path amidst inflation volatility.
Four out of 10 deals get raises
Among the total contracts registered last year, 2,320 contracts covered 577,300 workers with an average wage increase of 3.22%, while 764 sectoral agreements encompassed 8.46 million employees with an average rise of 2.75%. The typical working year was planned at around 1,735.7 hours per employee in 2022, with higher benchmarks recorded under national agreements. In the overall mix, 4 out of 10 contracts featured a salary increase above 3%, averaging around 4.84% in those cases.
Nearly half of all contracts granted increases between 0.5% and 2.5%, while agreements signed through December with increases over 2% accounted for more than half of the total. It is worth noting that 2022 did not record wage cuts, a contrast to 2021 when a small number of reductions occurred in some sectors. This trend underscores a cautiously optimistic climate for earnings growth amid persistent inflation across both Canada and the United States.
Affected by ‘Drop’
The labor statistics for 2022 also note 557 agreements not being implemented on time, a junior figure to the 559 seen in 2021. These pauses and adjustments affected about 21,797 workers, compared with 26,923 in the prior year, reflecting a 19% decrease. The pause in certain contracts aligns with broader efforts to renegotiate working conditions in the wake of economic fluctuations common to North American markets.