The threat of strike looming over the Le Massif de Charlevoix ski resort is increasing as the employer recently broke off negotiations for the renewal of the collective agreement, according to the union representing some 300 workers.
They are threatening to walk out on January 2 if no agreement is reached by then. A few days before this possible work stoppage and the expiry of the collective agreement, the employer has decided to leave the negotiating table, the Massif Workers’ Union, affiliated with the CSN, said on Tuesday.
He mentioned that the continuation of a meeting scheduled for Monday was canceled by management, which “refused to go back on the union offer,” as well as another scheduled to take place on Tuesday.
The union maintains that no negotiation meeting is therefore planned between now and Friday. The president of the Massif Workers’ Union, Annick Simard, “denounces the employer’s lack of will”.
“The union has reached out, sent clear signals and repeated its warnings. Despite everything, the employer chose to leave the table. The members never had the objective of striking. Unfortunately, the employer is forcing our hand with its blatant lack of will,” she said in a statement.
The union also accuses the Le Massif Group of making “the conscious decision to plunge the region into an avoidable labor conflict”.
The employer responds
The Le Massif Group reacted by press release in the afternoon, wishing to “clarify certain facts” in the face of the “circulation of inaccurate information [qui] weakens the climate necessary for the search for an agreement.
The employer affirmed that the overall remuneration offered to its employees “is already above that observed in several other comparable stations”.
He explained that the salary increases announced in other ski resorts aimed to make up for a gap compared to the conditions in force at the Massif.
The Le Massif Group specified that it had submitted two global offers “in order to advance the monetary aspect”. He pointed out that a counter-offer was submitted by the union on December 28.
“This essentially includes the same requests for salary increases, which represent an outbidding compared to the comparable regional market and strongly limit the possibility of moving towards an agreement,” argued the employer.
Three salary increase scenarios were presented, two of which include the implementation of a new salary structure in an equal manner at the request of the union, according to the Group. The other scenario keeps the current structure.
“In all cases, a minimum increase threshold is guaranteed for all employees, reaching up to 12.77% in the first year for certain positions,” mentioned the employer.
For the Le Massif Group, the union’s decision to set a strike day 24 hours after the expiry of the collective agreement and to consider 10 days of walkout is an “unusual approach”.
“The management of the Massif de Charlevoix recognizes the right to strike, but considers that it is premature and contrary to the orderly pursuit of the conciliation process,” we can read in the press release.
In the event of a walkout, the company says it will make “every effort to maintain quality service and minimize impacts on experience and safety”.
“However, certain operations could be adjusted depending on the capacity of our management staff to carry out activities,” it specifies on its website.
