Deadlock in negotiations | Queen Elizabeth responds to strikers in court

Intimidation, threats, aggressiveness, disinformation: according to The Queen Elizabeth, the attitude of her hotel union has the effect of a “gun to the head” in collective bargaining. On Friday, the establishment therefore filed an injunction with the Court, alleging bad faith on the part of the union.

“Many events and [de] recent comments from the Union demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt that the negotiation process is marked by bad faith,” reports the legal proceeding filed by Queen Elizabeth, including The Press obtained a copy on Friday.

At the end of the afternoon, the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel filed a request for an injunction, in which it requires the intervention of the Court in the negotiation of new collective agreements.

“The attitude of the Union is the equivalent of putting the gun to the Employer’s head », Said the employer spokesperson at the start of the conciliation sessions, in May. To which a member of the union negotiating committee responded: “check me with a gun to my head”.

The context of the negotiations, which Queen Elizabeth herself describes as “arduous”, involves 30 hotels across the province, which began coordinated negotiations in April in order to put pressure on the industry. For its part, the Queen Elizabeth Hotel Union must renew its three collective agreements, which expired on June 30.

Complex sessions

According to the motion filed in Court, the Queen Elizabeth Employees’ Union has adopted inflexible and uncompromising positions since May, to the point of “jeopardizing the very existence of the collective bargaining process” and undermining psychological health. of its members.

During the 24 sessions which took place between May and the date of filing the complaint, Queen Elizabeth explains that she encountered countless ultimatums, preventing any compromise. For example, from the first session, the Union demanded that its employer provide financial settlement for all of its grievances before continuing negotiations.

“As of today, ironically, the Union has still not acted on it [à notre proposition de règlement du 29 juillet]while the Union presented the grievance file as an obligation to any form of negotiations,” reports the hotel in the complaint.

According to the Employer, the Union also demanded to be released the day before and the day of the negotiation sessions, and that snacks be provided to them on site, otherwise the Union would not arrive “unprepared” for the meetings. Union members have also, on several occasions, used disinformation tactics among their members, by only evoking “half-truths” on the real progress of the negotiations to better obtain a strike mandate, according to the allegations of the complaint.

During a session in July, one of the Union members present at the table used objects used to make noise as part of pressure tactics: “these are plastic chickens that he makes ring when the representatives of the Employer leave the room”, specifies the document consulted by The Press.

Week-end of the PGA

On Wednesday, the hotel workers’ union launched a seven-day strike, while the establishment hosted one of the most prestigious international golf tournaments, the Presidents Cup.

In August, the union again imposed an ultimatum: it would undertake not to go on strike until September 30, 2024, on the sole condition that the hotel withdraws all its employer demands and that it accepts all demands unions, “totally arbitrary and abusive” conditions in the eyes of the employer.

If the establishment has 950 rooms, almost half are occupied by the organization of the event, or 575 clients. This represents just over 3,056 nights and substantial revenue for the Queen Elizabeth.

The treasurer and representative of the hotel sector at the Fédération du commerce, affiliated with the CSN, Michel Valiquette, reiterated his desire to settle the negotiations in order to be able to take advantage of “a fall season which promises to be very busy”.