About 80 workers at the Novotel Toronto Centre at 45 The Esplanade walked off the job Thursday, June 24 just in time for the arrival of international delegates attending the Group of 20 Summit.
The striking employees, who began picketing and rallying in front of the building at around 6:30 a.m., symbolically sported red and blue scarves like the fans of the embattled French soccer team. They also brought out a large inflatable rat in disdain of Novotel's apparent refusal to negotiate for good jobs that help contribute to the economic recovery.The job action began just as French delegates started checking in. Representatives from Brazil, Japan and Indonesia will also be spending the weekend at the Novotel for the international conference.Eric Buitenhuis, vice-president of operations for Novotel Canada, assured the safety and comfort of all guests as well as other staff members would be maintained throughout the G20 Summit."We are taking every possible step to ensure we meet our commitment to providing our guests and patrons with the highest level of service and comfort they expect from Novotel," he said in a June 24 statement. "Our greatest priority is and will remain ensuring a safe and secure environment for our guests and team members. We are committed to making all efforts to ensure a comfortable and pleasant stay for our guests and a rewarding and fulfilling work environment for all our team members." Thursday afternoon, five Novotel workers representing all departments of the hotel delivered a letter to management urging Novotel to return to the bargaining table with an open mind.Without a contract since February, the Novotel workers are fighting to stop shortened shifts, split shifts, irregular/unpredictable scheduling, and are calling for real solutions for workers injured on the job as well as improved wages and benefits. Unionized employees at Novotel were in a legal strike position as of 12:01 a.m. June 24, while workers at neighbouring hotels, like the Fairmont Royal York, won't be in that place until after the international summit.The workers are members of Unite Here Local 75, which has 50,000 members in Canada and more than 440,000 across North America represents more than 7,000 front desk workers, porters, cleaners, and kitchen staff in the Greater Toronto Area.Earlier this month, more than 5,000 workers from 32 hotels in the downtown core voted 94.2 per cent in favour of taking strike action if their upcoming contract negotiations fall through.The union and the management of Novotel Canada had until midnight Wednesday, June 23 to reach an agreement, which they failed to do."We're a small group of workers who are just trying to maintain decent jobs with this global giant," said Rik Hockley, a banquet server at the hotel and a member of the bargaining committee, in a June 24 statement."After sitting on our proposal for a month, they finally tabled their first and only proposal on Tuesday, June 22 and then walked out the door at 5 p.m. That is not collective bargaining by anyone's definition," said Paul Clifford, Unite Here Local 75's president, in a release.Buitenhuis said Novotel Canada has "diligently engaged in the labour negotiation process with Unite Here Local 75" and that it's "disappointed that the Union would undertake a walk out during the negotiations process. Such a step undermines the efforts to make progress and delays the achievement of a mutually satisfactory conclusion."Owned by the Paris-based company Accor, Novotel Toronto Centre presented its contract offer to the union on Tuesday, June 22.Buitenhuis said challenges arose when the union had "several new requests," which "need to be properly evaluated."He assured Novotel Toronto Centre would "invest the time and effort to legitimately consider and address these items" and report back to union representatives at the earliest opportunity. He further said Novotel is committed to the success of the negotiation process and to reaching a successful conclusion. "We value and respect all of our team members and their contribution to the success of our hotels," Buitenhuis said."We are proud of the excellent work and contribution of our employees, who earlier this year independently recognized Novotel Canada as one of Canada's Top 50 Best companies to work for. We continually strive to be a top employer for Canadians."Hockley, a seven-year employee, said the union's goal was never to enter into a labour dispute, but to reach a collective agreement.Unite Here Local 75 ended its walk out at the Novotel Toronto Centre today (Friday, June 25) prior to the official opening of the G20 Summit.