Case 3 Quebecor Videotron - Wage Reduction Proposal The following proposal was made to employees of Montreal-based Quebecors Videotron cable division. Employees are asked to increase the number of hours worked per week to 40 from 35, while receiving the same pay as working the shorter workweek. In addition, they are asked to accept less paid holiday time. The employees were threatened that either they accept the proposal, or their jobs would be outsourced. Quebecor spokesman Luc Lavoie justified the request made to the employees by saying, They have the richest work contract in the country, including eight weeks of holiday and high absenteeism. The company made it clear that if this proposal were not accepted, it would sell its cable television and internet installation and repair operations to Entourage Technology Solutions The employees, members of Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Local 2815, were reluctant to agree to these conditions. If they accepted, 300-400 employees were likely to be laid off, and the company could still consider outsourcing the work later.

Question:

1. If you were the executive vice-president of the company and a number of your non-unionized employees asked you for a holiday cash gift, would you have responded differently? Why or why not?