Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel downtown Montreal to close indefinitely as of Dec. 21 due to labour disputes [Video]

Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel downtown Montreal will be closed this holiday season over a labour dispute.

It will shut its doors Dec. 21 and it’s unclear when it will reopen.

“This decision was made due to the ongoing labour dispute that prevents the establishment from providing its clientele with the exceptional level of service for which it is renowned,” said the hotel in a news release.

Hotel employees all over Quebec took on strike mandates over the summer to pressure employers to sign a new collective agreement that would include salary increases and an end to the use of staffing agencies. In August, some 2,500 employees from 22 different hotels walked off the job.

Management said in a news release that the union rejected its latest offer which included a salary increase of 21 per cent over four years, with 10 per cent effective in the first year and …