Six-month lockout ends at Montreal's storied Queen Elizabeth hotel
MONTREAL - Unionized employees at Fairmont The Queen Elizabeth Hotel have agreed to a new contract, putting an end to a six-month lockout at the storied Montreal landmark.
A news release by the hotel says workers voted 91 per cent in favour of a new deal on Monday, after they were locked out by management on Nov. 20.
The 950-room luxury hotel is the largest in Quebec and is known as the location for John Lennon and Yoko Ono's recording of 'Give Peace a Chance' during their 1969 bed-in.
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The union — Fédération du commerce — says the deal includes a 21 per cent salary increase over four years for 600 workers, and more rules around the use of staffing agencies.
Hotel management says it will gradually restart operations this month, with full service to resume on May 26.
The union says a half-dozen other hotels in Quebec City, Montreal and Saguenay Lac-St-Jean, involved in the same co-ordinated bargaining, have yet to reach agreements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 13, 2025.
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