Union members at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in downtown Montreal have just been given a strike mandate.
The mandate is one of 120 hours of strike or five days, which can be broken down into hours or days, to be exercised at the appropriate time. The workers, members of a union of the Fédération du commerce, affiliated with the CSN, adopted this mandate in a proportion of 95%. The union has some 600 members.
The union claims to have come to equip itself with such a means of pressure to speed up the negotiations.
“If the workers at the Queen Elizabeth decided to vote for a strike mandate, it is to be taken seriously by the employer. Our labour relations are particularly difficult and it is time to rebuild a good working climate. Let’s hope that the strike mandate will be a strong enough signal for the employer to finally understand that it must accelerate negotiations and listen to our demands,” commented François Houle, vice-president of the workers’ union at this hotel.
The employer, for its part, also says it wants to “have negotiations that move forward quickly,” in the interest of employees, the hotel and customers. “We want to reach an agreement that is fair for everyone,” said David Connor of the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth.
He said he wanted to “minimize possible disruptions to continue to provide guests with the experience” they expect when visiting the renowned hotel.
Further negotiation dates between the parties are planned for July.
Voting Series
This vote is the first in a series that will be held in other hotels in the Montreal, Quebec, Estrie and Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean regions, as part of the coordinated negotiations being held by the Fédération du commerce dans l’hôtellerie.
Union members at the Bonaventure Hotel, also in downtown Montreal, are also due to vote on this strike mandate on July 11.
Other unions of workers in the hotels concerned will be called upon to decide, in the coming weeks, on the same mandate of 120 hours of strike. It is already planned that those who have still not settled will hold a common day of walkout in August.
This coordinated negotiation will ultimately involve 30 hotels in the four regions. As the expiry dates of collective agreements vary, the timing of the meetings also varies.
The principle sought by the Trade Federation through this coordinated negotiation is to obtain an initial agreement with an employer and then attempt to reproduce it with other employers. The unions concerned thus coordinate their negotiation and keep each other informed.