Housekeepers working at the Montagnais Hotel ratify a new contract

Housekeepers working at the Montagnais Hotel ratify a new contractQuébec (QC) – March 28, 2023 – The housekeepers working at the Montagnais, a GDI Services company, in Chicoutimi, ratified a new four-year contract. 94% of the thirty or so members from UFCW Local Union 501 voted in favor of the ratification of the agreement between the parties at the negotiation table. The new collective agreement starts retroactively on November 1, 2022, and will thus expire at the end of 2026.

The new agreement comes with wage raises averaging 6%, retroactive on November 1, 2022. For the years from 2023 to 2026, the raises will vary between 2,5% and 4%, following the consumer price index. In fact, this new collective agreement will allow the workers to get salary raises from 16% to 22% in 4 years. Moreover, the workers with ten years of seniority will receive a lump sum of $41,46 per week, which will be annually revised upwards 2,5%.

Other negotiated improvements to their work conditions include:

  • The gain of a fifth vacation week at 10% after 15 years of seniority instead of 20.

  • The addition of a sixth vacation week at 12% after 25 years of seniority.

  • The addition of a paid floating day-off and a paid sick day.

  • The increase of the verification premium to $2 per hour or more, depending on the experience.

  • The introduction of a reduced working week to 4 days for permanent workers of 55 years-old and older with 10 years of seniority, while keeping their permanent occupation. In addition, these workers chose to work every other weekend or to not work on weekends.

“We are very proud of this new collective agreement for our workers from the Saguenay region! The negotiation committee has done an excellent work for our members! We will continue to support them and offer them an outstanding representation”, declares Daniel Nadeau, director of the UFCW Local Union 501 East of Québec’s office.

UFCW Local 501 represents 19,000 union members working at more than 410 companies across Quebec and northern New Brunswick. To learn more about UFCW 501 and its outstanding work, visit the Local Union’s website.

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