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Strike against a private concessionaire to the Sainte-Justine Hospital

CSN

Here, at 11 h, the 35 employees of the snack bar at CHU Sainte-Justine, managed by the Compass group, have launched an unlimited general strike in response to their employer who wishes to reduce their working conditions on several aspects.

For the President of the National Union of Employees of CHU Sainte-Justine, representing some 1950 establishment workers, Gilles Charrois, this battle became inevitable given the lack of flexibility shown by the employer at the bargaining table. " We wear, in sum, few improvement requests. The main thing for us is to preserve our working conditions, our collective agreement, fruit of the work that we have done over the years 40 last years. »

Major setbacks
The collective agreement has expired since February 2010. Union tried to advance negotiations by various means before going on strike, more, again this morning, several points remained in dispute, in particular four requests for hindsight brought by the Compass group. This one wishes :

• Eliminate job definitions, which could lead to job losses ;
• Reduce the number of sick days ;
• Increase the cost of meals for employees ;
• Abolish the indexing clause which ensures the maintenance of the purchasing power of employees.

otherwise, parties disagree on salary increases. The company also refuses the union’s request to have its books examined by an independent firm capable of painting a picture of the snack’s financial health..

Clear support
These 35 employees, who provide meal service for whatever 4000 employees of the hospital as well as for patients and their families, are not alone in this battle. Indeed, the three CSN unions in Sainte-Justine, who represent all the employees of the establishment, support them wholeheartedly. They made an eloquent demonstration of it this Wednesday, during a corn roast in front of the hospital.

The President of the Central Council of Metropolitan Montreal, Gaétan Châteauneuf reiterated the unconditional support of CSN unions in the Montreal region. "These employees will be able to count on the support of the central council and its 400 affiliated unions representing 94 000 members, in this battle for respect. We will support them tirelessly to enable them to achieve their negotiation objectives. »

Note that the strikers will also benefit from financial support from their union, the SNE of CHU Sainte-Justine, for the duration of the conflict. They can also count on the support of the Professional Defense Fund, powered by 300 000 CSN union members.

Disrupted food services
This strike will have an effect on the food services offered at the hospital. Indeed, night and weekends, the snack bar is the only place where you can get ready meals inside the hospital, the cafeteria being closed.

Last month, Compass Snack Workers Celebrate Fortieth Anniversary of Union Certification.

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