With construction season about to kick in to high gear, there's now a threat of a work stoppage that could cause delays across the province.
The union representing the 1,400 engineers working for the Quebec government voted in favour of a strike as of May 10.
Negotiations between the two sides have been going on for several months, with salary being a main point of contention.
Provincial engineers are looking for parity with their federal and municipal counterparts, which would require a pay increase of about 20 per cent.
Andy Guyaz, the union's treasury secretary, told La Presse that the 20 per cent increase would really only achieve wage parity, including all other forms of compensation provincial engineers make about 40 per cent less than their peers.
The next round of negotiations will be held Friday, May 5.
Not all the engineers work for the Transportation Ministry, but the majority do.
A strike could cause delays to some major projects, including the Turcot Interchange rebuild. While the project is contracted out to private firms, there are various aspects of each project that require a provincial engineer on hand.