PROFESSIONAL RELATIONSHIPS. The union and management parties at the Granby Zoo agree on one point: negotiations for the renewal of the new collective agreement are too slow. Since February, eleven meetings have taken place and no normative clause has been settled.
The collective agreement for Granby Zoo employees expired last December. She supervised the work of park maintenance employees. Since the end of April, pressure tactics have been taken. Flags displaying the CSN logo can be seen around the Zoo, all with the aim of moving the negotiations forward.
Dialogue of the deaf
“We are heading directly towards a labor dispute in this matter. No normative clause has been settled, maintains the treasurer and responsible for tourism of the CSN, Michel Valiquette. We are just exchanging words at the negotiating table, this is not normal. From experience, in a negotiation like this, we should have already started to address the salary clauses.
For now, the two parties have only talked. No agreement has been reached, and salary clauses have not been addressed. The union wants employees to be recognized for their true value. “I have the impression that the employer is using the employees’ passion for animals for his own benefit, by not wanting to pay them their fair value,” says Mr. Valiquette.
For his part, the general director of the Granby Zoo, Paul Gosselin, would also like to reach an agreement quickly. “We have tried to make progress to negotiate points directly at the negotiating table and we always receive rejections,” he mentions, disappointed with the lack of availability from the union. The last meeting of the two parties took place on May 25. The meetings are now in conciliation, with the agreement of both parties.
Strike ?
A new meeting was to take place on June 25. “The Zoo has already submitted possible solutions to the union so that it can work on this and come back to us with feedback,” declares Mr. Gosselin, affirming that union relations have always been good at the Granby Zoo.
According to the CSN, this meeting would clarify the continuation of the union’s actions. “It’s good to discuss, but if we don’t move forward, sometimes we don’t have the choice to raise our voice, which allows things to move forward,” underlines Mr. Valiquette. For the moment, the pressure tactics that have been voted on do not include a strike mandate.
The general director of the Granby Zoo believes that the union side should show greater open-mindedness and see things differently. Paul Gosselin wants to resolve negotiations through discussion.
The union does not agree. “We are trying to bring together the winning conditions to come to a settlement, but it takes two people to tango. Unfortunately, the employer does not play its role in this negotiation,” says the CSN tourism manager.
Summer season
For now, the customer experience is not affected by the collective agreement renewal negotiations. The Granby Zoo wants to avoid this affecting visitors. “We would be ready to negotiate every day,” Mr. Gosselin emphasizes. He also mentions that he would have liked to begin negotiations as soon as the collective agreement ended, last December.
“There was a window of opportunity to settle before the peak season, but the employer turned a deaf ear at the negotiating table to drag us to today, where our balance of power is higher,” notes Quant. to him Mr. Valiquette. The Granby Zoo employs 250 people. We can add to this number many seasonal employees during the summer.
