Still locked out months later, Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel workers rally in downtown Montreal

Some 600 workers at Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel remain locked out of the hotel, nearly five months after rejecting a proposed contract. The dispute centres on workload demands and the hotel’s use of non-union staff.

“Can you imagine your life without a regular salary for five months?” said François Houle, concierge and union vice-president at the Fairmont.

Negotiations have stalled since the lockout began in November, and both sides blame each other for the impasse. Hotel representatives say the union keeps adding new demands. Union members say their position has remained consistent.

The hotel’s general manager says the hotel offered a revised package last month that included a 21 per cent wage increase over four years and a cap on the use of staffing agencies.

“We do have agencies in part of our agreement simply because of the size of the hotel,” said David Connor at a media roundtable Tuesday.

With 950 rooms, the downtown Montreal hotel is the largest in Quebec.

The hotel’s use of staffing agencies has been an ongoing point of contention for the union. A spokesperson for the union told CityNews although the hotel has agreed to get rid of agencies, this would only take effect in a few years’ time.

According to the union spokesperson, if the hotel wants to settle, they should respond favourably to the proposal made a few weeks ago. 

“What is left outstanding? We have already given what the platform has requested,” said Connor.

Jorge Carvalho is a bellman with 20 years of experience in the industry and the union grievance vice-president. He says that since COVID-19, 335 unionized positions were cut. 

“At one point it’s our bodies that are letting go,” he said. “It’s hard to work like that with all the pressure and no staff.”

Ruben La Rosa, who has worked as a cook at the hotel since 2018, joined dozens of unionized workers striking in front of the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, which owns the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, on Tuesday.

“If you compare from 2018 to here, we had a total of 5 per cent salary increase and we had a 25 per cent inflation,” he said. “It’s like our salary is going back instead of going forward.”

According to the Bank of Canada’s online calculator, Canada’s inflation rate has risen by just over 23 per cent since 2018.

Hotel representatives say the negotiations are at an impasse. 

“A housekeeping attendant earns $28 per hour to work at the Queen Elizabeth, and the average in Quebec is $19 to $21 per hour,” said Dominique Villeneuve, president and CEO of the Greater Montreal Hotel Association. “We have the best working conditions in Quebec.”

The hotel shut its doors during the winter holidays between Dec. 21 to Jan. 3 because management said they couldn’t provide their usual level of service to guests. With Montreal’s tourist season fast approaching, both sides hope to reach an agreement, but it remains to be seen.

Houle calls the lockout “an attack” on unionized employees.

“Especially in the sense that they’ve allowed us only 45 minutes to talk to each other within those five months of lockout, of negotiations,” he said.

Connor disagrees on the number.

“Back in March, we were there together until 1:30 in the morning, so obviously much, much more than 45 minutes total,” he said.

Fairmont the Queen Elizabeth caters major events in Montreal like the Grand Prix, which takes place annually in June. Houle says that Montreal’s tourist season fast approaching, the city’s reputation is on the line.

“The catering service at the Grand Prix is going to be a total disaster if those people don’t go back to work,” said Houle. “This is Montreal’s reputation at stake.”

For La Rosa, who came to Montreal from Cuba, this is the first union dispute in his life.

“I came from Cuba, a dictatorship,” said La Rosa. “I feel proud to exercise my right of speech, my right of movement, my right of union.”