“For us, a situation like the one we are experiencing is still completely unjustified when we look at Videotron's profits and know that 95% of Quebecor's revenue comes from Videotron,” says President Nick Mingione, president of Videotron Employees Union (SEVL). -SCFP 2815). We are making attempts, we have put forward some settlement proposals (in the week before Christmas), but there is an end to the rejection, it says no, no, no. There’s not even a way back.”
Given these dynamics, Mr. Mingione, even though he says he is optimistic that the lockout will end sooner or later, believes that “it is clear that Mr. Péladeau (President and CEO of Quebecor) has a single goal when we look at it “The situation: It’s about humiliating our own employees.”
“While Videotron makes these profits and Mr. Péladeau pays for newspapers and television with the (Montreal) Alouettes, we have 214 families on the streets who are deprived of their income. This is inexplicable and unacceptable. We are open and ready to go back to the negotiating table, but in a spirit of compromise, to meet both the needs of the union and the needs of the employers,” he explains.
Recall that the company announced a lockout at the end of October, barely ten days after workers in Outaouais rejected by 74% an offer that management described as “global and final.” Videotron, which argues that its demands are legitimate and necessary to address major changes in the industry and labor recruitment challenges, is demanding, among other things, access to more subcontracting, as it reportedly has around 350 vacancies in its call centers.
Unlimited subcontracting selected
However, the union regrets that what it described as “excessive” demands for “unlimited subcontracting” were never communicated to workers before they emerged in discussions in the autumn. Evidence is that such a concept was never raised in negotiations with staff elsewhere in the province, in Montreal, Quebec and Saguenay.
“We ask ourselves questions. On the one hand, we are talking about a certain cultural sovereignty, on the other hand, we want to relocate high-quality jobs abroad, denounces Mr. Mingione. By acting in this way, we not only lack respect for employees, but also a little respect for Quebec society.”
The union leader would therefore like to point out that it was thanks in particular to the support of the Caisse de dépôt etplacement du Québec that the company was able to get its hands on Videotron in 2000.
SEVL claims that it has watered down its wine from day one because it thinks about the well-being of the members as well as the well-being of the company.
“Because no company, no jobs. Our suggestions always take into account the employer's requirements, but the opposite is not the case. “The few inquiries we receive are minimal compared to those from Videotron,” describes Mr. Mingione. We don't have the best, but we have good working conditions. The most important issue is preserving jobs in the Outaouais, that is the core of these negotiations.”
The collective agreement expired in 2020.
“They believe in their cause”
On site on Saint-Joseph Boulevard, the morale of the troops is still good in everyday life despite the capricious weather and the duration of the conflict, the latter claims, because the workers “even see the employer’s actions”. than his lack of respect and seriousness.
“They believe in their cause,” says Nick Mingione, who points out that members never discussed a strike vote before the lockout because they wanted to explore other options. […] As long as we talk, there is a chance of finding a solution, but still.”
He remembers with displeasure that 21 years ago, a lockout ordered by Videotron lasted almost a year.
The SEVL affirms that the major strike movement in the public sector this autumn has certainly cast “a small shadow” on this lockout, as the public's attention has been mainly focused on these issues in the education and health sectors, which have had, and hopes, daily repercussions that their cause will have more light if the conflict continues.
“I hope the media will now be able to move on and focus more on our plight. We defend jobs and working conditions. And until recent news, the democratic negotiation of a pension fund, group insurance and salaries in Quebec is not a crime,” he exclaims.
Impact on families
The mood on the street seemed good on the 68th day of the lockout, even if the lack of pay hurts. CUPE offers a strike fund of $300 per week as well as another local union fund. For some, this is just 50% of their usual income.
Alexandre Brazeau-Schnob, a single father of two small children and an employee of the security service, admits that the situation is not easy financially.
“It was quite difficult, especially at the beginning because we had a little less income with the union. “As it progresses, we get more support from other organizations, which allows us to make slightly more comfortable contributions,” he concludes. Other call centers (from Videotron in the province) also voted for an additional contribution, we are very happy about this support.
The latter claims that it is not the right one, given the complexity that this would entail, given the fact that there are two children, including one in daycare, and given the situation that has prevailed in the school environment in recent weeks It was time to think about a second job. He had to make certain arrangements with his financial institution.
“It's a job I love, I love the customers. […] “It's sad to see people who work to maintain a certain reputation being locked out and told, 'We're going to throw you out and we don't know when you're going to work again,'” he says sadly.
Corine Mariat, a full-time student and part-time employee at Videotron, claims that the 20 hours of picketing per week is tiring given her schedule, but believes we have to fight.
“But I am one of the lucky ones because we saved a lot of money by going back to school. “I’m not affected too much financially, what’s really problematic for me is the extra hours I have to work to reach the same level as my colleagues because we have to be united,” she says.
La Gatinoise regrets that the company currently seems to “forget” that its popularity is due to its employees.
Implement a Plan C
Sébastien Derouin, who has worked at Videotron for almost 17 years, says he would much rather work indoors than on the streets. Furthermore, as luck would have it, his partner was a teacher (who had been on an indefinite general strike for a month), so no salary had been paid since the end of November.
“On a financial level, it is certain that Plan B, which was my partner, failed somewhat, so we moved to Plan C, which was to dip into savings,” he explains. . We suspected it (the teachers' strike) and set aside a little more than normal just in case. We cut the fat on expenses.”
Among other things, stop going to a restaurant once a week.
“We never really deprived ourselves of anything, if we wanted something, we bought it. We only take what we need with us, that's all. […] If this continues for much longer, our mortgage will be due in May. As interest rates rise, we may ask to extend the deadline a little,” says Mr Derouin.
He advocates that everyone continues to do their work “conscientiously” despite months of negotiations, and asserts that the employer had no reason to act in this way last October and that a return to work while continuing discussions would be beneficial for everyone be.
Videotron said at the start of the lockout that its latest offer included pay increases totaling up to 45.5% over seven years, which the union believes is incorrect. The company states that the proposed increase is 14.5% over seven years, to which is added the payment of lump sums equal to 3% of salary, for a total of 17.5% over seven years, plus 4% per year of salary growth More than 70% of employees are eligible.