GATINEAU – As of 5 a.m. Monday morning, 214 unionized employees of Quebecor subsidiary Videotron have been locked out at the company’s location in Gatineau.
Videotron announced last Friday in a press release it was serving a lockout notice to Laurentian-area Local SEVL-2815 (Gatineau), a Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) local, after 74% of members voted to reject Videotron’s Oct. 10 offer.
The employees’ collective agreement expired on Aug. 31, 2021, and after 18 bargaining sessions with local union representatives and several high-level meetings between Videotron management and CUPE representatives, the two sides have been unable to negotiate a new agreement, Videotron said.
“The main points in Videotron’s offer included a 14.5% wage increase over seven years, plus lump-sum payments equivalent to 3% of salary, for a total of 17.5%. When combined with the 4% annual raise for which over 70% of employees are eligible, this comes to a 45.5% increase over the seven-year period,” reads Videotron’s press release.
The company said it also wants to be able to increase outsourcing, as it currently has more than 350 unfilled positions at its call centres despite ongoing recruitment efforts. Videotron’s press release noted the company has committed to no layoffs in jobs for which it uses outsourcing.
Videotron said it had no choice but to serve the lockout notice to its Gatineau employees, adding the company “wants to reach an agreement with the union and hopes the dispute can be resolved quickly.”
When Local SEVL-2815 announced on Oct. 19 it had rejected Videotron’s offer, Nick Mingione, president of the local, said in a statement the main issue was excessive subcontracting and the relocation of jobs overseas.
“Videotron is a very profitable company that receives a lot of subsidies from different levels of government. We want to ensure that Videotron also gives back to the community by creating and maintaining quality jobs,” Mingione said in an English translation of his statement.
On Monday, the president of CUPE in Quebec (Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique or SCFP), Patrick Gloutney, called for federal anti-scab legislation to be introduced as soon as possible, although it may come too late for Videotron staff in Gatineau.
The union said it continues to believe an agreement can be negotiated with Videotron.
