Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel announces holiday season closure amid labour dispute

The iconic Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in downtown Montreal is closing on Dec. 21 for the holiday season due to an ongoing labour dispute.

The 950-room luxury hotel announced the decision in a news release Thursday, saying the dispute prevents the hotel from providing its clientele with "the exceptional level of service for which it is renowned."

For several months, managers have been forced to take on tasks usually performed by unionized employees, the news release says. This situation arises from numerous last-minute surprise strikes initiated by the union.

Employees are represented by the Confédération des syndicats nationaux-affiliated union Fédération du commerce (FC-CSN), which represents employees at 30 hotels in Quebec. Negotiations with the union began in April.

A 120-hour strike mandate was adopted on July 3 by 95 per cent of the Queen Elizabeth workers and can be broken down into hours or days. The same mandate was then adopted by Bonaventure Hotel employees.

At the time, hotel workers were demanding a 36 per cent salary increase over four years to make up for money lost during the pandemic and inflation.

They were also asking for a third week of vacation, better insurance contributions, improved training programs for new hires, a more equitable distribution of tips and an end to the use of temporary placement agencies.

Summer of strikes

Throughout the summer, there were several strikes across the province as negotiations between the FC-CSN continued. For example, on Aug. 30, More than 2,000 unionized hotel employees staged a surprise strike across the province on Friday. 

The strike affected 22 hotels in Montreal, Sherbrooke and Quebec City.

In October, the union announced 11 hotel unions reached a tentative agreement, securing gains on both common demands and local issues. More have since followed, bringing it up to employees at 17 Quebec hotels accepting proposals.

At the Queen Elizabeth, management declared a lockout on Nov. 20.

The hotel now says it has made efforts to reach an agreement, such as engaging conciliators and dropping several demands in a spirit of compromise. 

"More recently, the union rejected a comprehensive offer aligned with CSN's demands in co-ordinated hotel negotiations," the news release says. "It is important to note that this proposal was accepted by more than 20 other hotel establishments in Quebec."

This refused offer included a salary increase of 21 per cent over four years, with 10 per cent effective in the first year, and a clause restricting staffing agencies' use, the release says.

The closure is temporary, the release says, but it is not clear when the hotel will reopen. The hotel says it is committed to finding a solution that "respects both employees' legitimate interests and those necessary to ensure the establishment's sustainability."

The union, on the other hand, is accusing the hotel of bringing in "scabs" during the lockout. It says in a news release Thursday that the province's Labour Ministry has investigated the matter and found approximately 30 people were performing tasks usually performed by those on strike.

"Unfortunately, we can't say we're surprised. For months, the hotel has been engaged in a real anti-union campaign. Nothing can stop the Queen Elizabeth, which is even ready to violate labour laws," said FC-CSN president Alexandre Laviolette in a union news release.

In a later phone interview, he accused the employer of using deplorable tactics to avoid reaching an agreement at the negotiation table. Rather than investing in its workers, the hotel is closing during the holidays, he said. 

When asked why a collective agreement still hasn't been reached at the Queen Elizabeth while so many others have, he said there are specific problems with the owner, who is unwilling to meet certain demands. It's not one demand across all hotels, he explained, as there are local concerns at every establishment.

"It has been several years that we've noticed there are problems with labour relations at that hotel," he said. Now the employees have been on lockout for weeks, and are facing holidays with no resolution, he said.