The business climate appears tense at the Marriott Château Champlain, a popular downtown Montreal hotel, as the union refers to its employer by claiming it is engaging in anti-union practices. A demonstration is scheduled for Saturday as a gesture of solidarity with the head of the union, who was unfairly dismissed in the eyes of a representative of the establishment’s workers.
According to the Trade Union Confederation of Nationals (CSN), hotel management is violating the collective agreement, which expired over a year ago, by turning to subcontractors and line managers to perform tasks that are usually the responsibility of unionized workers.
The practice is slowing the rate of call-ups for workers who have been laid off since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, explains Michel Faliquit, the union’s head of hospitality.
Vallekett said in a phone interview that there have only been “15 to 25 people” called back since the hotel reopened after major renovations, compared to a workforce of 220 union members — maintenance staff, chefs and divers, for example — before the health crisis.
“We are starting to see more interesting occupancy rates, but there are a few paybacks,” Mr. Vallekett lamented, adding that it was hard to understand why staff recalls were so slow when many companies in the hospitality sector reported a workforce shortage.
Interview elected officials
The trade union has even decided to question government ministers Legault and Trudeau to suggest that the Marriott Château Champlain and its owner are behaving in this way even if they benefit from government support programs such as the TCP. For corporations (PACTE) and Emergency Wage Assistance Canada (SSUC).
As of March 31, the Château Champlain Limited Partnership has received $6.2 million from PACTE, while hotel and property group Tidan, the hotel’s owner, has received about $10.7 million. Tidan also benefited from the SSUC, according to the program’s federal registry.
“In doing so, not only management [de l’hôtel] It frequently violates the applicable collective agreement, but is directly responsible for keeping unemployed workers who only want to be called back to work,” the letter argues that Journalism He was able to consult.
Tidan said, in an e-mailed statement, that his response will come next week, indicating that there is a mediation process to renew the collective agreement.
The union leader’s grief
On Monday, the Administrative Labor Court ruled that the president of the Marriott Chateau Champlain’s labor union, Aida Gonsalves, had access to the hotel’s union office despite being fired last month.
NSI Gonçalves lost his livelihood on July 14 after a demonstration last week in the hotel lobby. The administration also denied him access to the Marriott Union headquarters.
The court considered that this is a violation of the “basic rights of the union.” He also ordered the employer to let Mr.I Gonçalves to participate in conciliation or negotiation sessions with a view to renewing the collective agreement.
According to the trade association, the demonstration should begin in front of Tidan’s main office on Sherbrooke West Street, and end in front of the Marriott Château Champlain.
Opened in 1967 to welcome visitors to Expo 67, the hotel has more than 600 rooms and underwent an interior facelift that ended last spring.