Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel downtown Montreal to close indefinitely as of Dec. 21 due to labour disputes

Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel employees on strike July 28, 2024. (Source: CSN)

Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel downtown Montreal will be closed this holiday season over a labour dispute.

It will shut its doors Dec. 21 and it’s unclear when it will reopen.

“This decision was made due to the ongoing labour dispute that prevents the establishment from providing its clientele with the exceptional level of service for which it is renowned,” said the hotel in a news release.

Hotel employees all over Quebec took on strike mandates over the summer to pressure employers to sign a new collective agreement that would include salary increases and an end to the use of staffing agencies. In August, some 2,500 employees from 22 different hotels walked off the job.

Management said in a news release that the union rejected its latest offer which included a salary increase of 21 per cent over four years, with 10 per cent effective in the first year and reduced reliance on staffing agencies.

The unions representing more than 20 other hotels accepted similar offers, it added, while management was “forced to take on tasks usually performed by unionized employees.”

“This situation arises from numerous last-minute surprise strikes initiated by the union,” it said.

But the union representing the 600 employees who will be locked out said that’s a lie, and if the offer was the same as the one presented to other unions, a collective agreement would have been signed.

“Rather than working to put an end to the conflict, Queen Elizabeth is only adding fuel to the fire,” said FC-CSN President Alexandre Laviolette in an email statement.

“The Christmas shutdown is just one more in a long line of bad decisions. The employer continues to tell lies, claiming that it is responding to the CSN's coordinated bargaining demands, which is not the case, particularly on the important issue of agencies.”

The union also accused the hotel of using “scabs” to counter strike efforts and of breaking labour laws.

“An investigation report by the Ministry of Labour shows that the Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth hotel used around 30 scabs,” the union said in a news release. “This offence adds to a long list of anti-union attacks at this hotel.”