Employees of the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal decide on strike mandate

July 3, 2024

The unionized employees of the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel in Montreal voted by a majority of 95 percent for a strike mandate.

The mandate for a strike of 120 hours, or five days, which can be divided into hours or days as needed, was accepted by the approximately 600 members of a trade union of the Fédération du Commerce, affiliated to the CSN.

“If the workers at the Queen Elizabeth have decided to vote for a strike, this must be taken seriously by the employer. Our industrial relations are particularly difficult and it is time to rebuild a good working atmosphere,” said François Houle, vice president of the hotel’s union.

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“Let us hope that the strike mandate is a strong enough signal so that the employer finally understands that he must speed up negotiations and listen to our demands.”

The employer says it wants to “conduct swift negotiations” in the interests of employees, the hotel and customers. “We want to agree a fair deal for everyone,” said David Connor of Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth.

He said he wanted to “minimize any potential disruption to continue to provide customers with the experience” they expect when visiting a hotel.

Further negotiations between the parties are planned for later this month.

This vote is the first in a series of votes to be held in hotels in the Montreal, Quebec, Estrie and Saguenay–Lac-St-Jean regions as part of coordinated negotiations by the Fédération du Commerce.

Union members at the Bonaventure Hotel, also in downtown Montreal, will vote on the same strike mandate on July 11.

The other unions of the affected hotels will also be asked to decide on the strike mandate in the coming weeks. Those who have not yet reached an agreement will hold a joint strike day in August.

These coordinated negotiations ultimately affect 30 hotels in the four regions. Since the expiry dates of the collective agreements vary, the dates of the meetings also vary.

The Fédération du Commerce attempts, through coordinated negotiations, to first reach an agreement with one employer and then to reproduce this agreement with other employers.

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