MONTREAL -- Several dozen people gathered outside the Marriott Chateau Champlain Hotel on Saturday, protesting against the dismissal of union president and employee of 32 years Aida Goncalves.

The demonstrators gathered on Sherbrooke St. West in front of the offices of Tidan, which owns the de la Gauchetiere hotel. They then marched to the hotel site itself.

Goncalves was suspended and then fire following a union visibility activity on July 8, according to the FC-CSN, with which the hotel's union was affiliated.

“The goal was to attack the president and also the union, probably wishing people were going to crash, but the opposite happened. People stood up and supported the union president,” said FC treasurer Michel Valiquette. “We've come back to the tactics of the 1970s. It's a bit retrograde.”

Valiquette noted that Tidan had pulled a similar strategy with another union president at a different Quebec hotel.

During the July 8 event, Goncalves and union members briefly entered the hotel lobby to express their displeasure with their employer, the union said. The event was part of negotiations for the renewal of their collective agreement.

The hotel management claimed that Goncalves' dismissal was due to an assault, a charge the union denies, saying no damage was done to the hotel.

Following that protest, the hotel management refused to negotiate with Goncalves present and she was banned from entering the workplace.

The CSN filed a request for a provisional order with the Administrative Labour Tribunal (TAT), which ruled in their favour.

In their decision, the TAT allowed Goncalves to participate in negotiating session and also ordered the hotel to give her access to the workplace and union office.

“This is the first time I have been fired for a mobilization activity. I've been with the union for over 20 years. In my opinion, it was a strategy to get me away from the negotiation table and my workplace because that's where I'm going to mobilize the people,” she said.

Negotiations are scheduled to resume on Aug. 11 with a mediator present. Procedures are underway to reinstate Goncalves in her job.

Saturday's demonstration was also used to denounce hotel management's attitude towards working conditions and respect for the collective agreement, which expired a year ago. The union denounced in particular the use of subcontractors since renovations ended in the spring. The CSN said management has kept contractors on board instead of bringing back workers.

“In a hotel with 220 workers before the pandemic, there are currently between 15 and 25 people working while occupancy rates are on the rise. It's inexplicable,” said Valiquette, who also said Tidan has received millions in government grants during the pandemic while “behaving like a thug.”

The union is asking for salary increases ranging from 2.1 per cent to four per cent and an improvement to group insurance.

Tidan and hotel management did not respond to requests for comment.  

-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 7, 2021.