The 150 union members of the DoubleTree by Hilton of the Complexe Desjardins in Montreal have ended an indefinite general strike that has lasted for five months, learned The duty. On Tuesday, 57% of employees accepted a new collective agreement after a long general meeting.
“It’s a clear signal that we send to the employer. We accept, but we would have liked to have had more. There will be a new negotiation in 2024 and we will wish to obtain better working conditions, mentions to the Duty the treasurer of the Fédération du commerce (FC–CSN), Michel Valiquette. It was an excellent assembly, with many debates. »
The employees of the hotel located in the heart of the Quartier des Spectacles went on strike on September 2. It was following the intervention of a conciliator, involved in the file for several months and who made a recommendation, that the two parties were able to reach an agreement.
“No decline in working conditions”
For the union, the end of this saga is a success for the workers. “It’s a victory, maintains Michel Valiquette. The employer maintained setbacks for several months, and, in the end, he won nothing. The union has not accepted any setback in terms of working conditions. »
The employees therefore obtain a settlement almost similar to what was negotiated in 16 other hotels, including a collective agreement over a period of four years and a similar salary increase.
The workload of room attendants will be reduced to up to 12 rooms per day at certain times of the year. This is a “very significant” gain for DoubleTree employees, “that we haven’t necessarily obtained elsewhere,” says Michel Valiquette.
They will probably return to work “in the coming days”, specifies the union, while the time is for deconfinement in Quebec.
This is therefore the 17th settlement in the hospitality sector since the expiry of the collective agreements in June 2020 and there are still six to be obtained.
The employees of the Hilton hotel in Quebec are still on strike. “It is a message that we send to the owner of the Hilton Quebec, especially in the situation in which we find ourselves with the relaunch and the deconfinement, underlines Michel Valiquette. Here too the employer is sticking to his guns and does not want to allocate the working conditions that have been given to other workers in the hotel industry. »