Workers seeking 36% wage increase over four years
More than 2,600 Quebec hotel workers went on strike Thursday to seek better deals from their employers.
The workers are demanding wage increases of 36% over four years to “compensate for the loss of purchasing power due to inflation, increased vacation and insurance benefits, and protection from potential employer interference if the legislation governing tips changes,” according to the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN).
"Hoteliers can't turn a deaf ear forever. We can clearly see that the strike days destabilize them. Every time we go back to work, it's chaos in the hotels,” said explains Michel Valiquette, head of the hotel sector and treasurer of the Fédération du commerce (FC–CSN). “If they want to move on quickly, they know what they have to do. For the strikes to end, it takes good wages and progress at the negotiating tables.”
The 36% increase is the workers’ “rightful share,” according to them, of the “post-pandemic profits in the hotel sector,” reported Bloomberg in an article published on MSN.
Last week, the CSN warned about the national strike after more than 90% of workers voted in favor of a 120-hour strike mandate to be exercised at the appropriate time.
Also, more than 400 hotel workers in Quebec began a 36-hour strike action on Thursday last week at the Gouverneur Place Dupuis Hotel and the DoubleTree Hotel, owned by Artifact Group.
“The hotel sector has experienced an extremely rapid recovery, all thanks to the women and men who welcome customers every day,” said Caroline Senneville, president of the CSN. “Hotel workers know that if they want to improve their work life, there will be no handouts from their employer. That is why they are in action all summer.”
More strikes to come
Meanwhile, more hotel walkouts are likely in Quebec, according to union leaders.
“If they don’t get the message, we’ll do another strike,” CSN treasurer Yvan Duceppe told a crowd of workers, according to Bloomberg.
There had also been strike issues at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario (LCBO), Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) in the past few months.
