Workers at three Montreal hotels are holding a surprise strike Saturday at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel, the Marriott Chateau Champlain and the Hyatt Place Montreal. This is the third consecutive day of strike action for employees at the Queen Elizabeth.
The Fédération du commerce, a union affiliated with the CSN, indicated that 600 employees are on strike at the Queen Elizabeth, 350 at the Marriott and a hundred at the Hyatt hotel.
This surprise strike comes shortly after a day of strike action in 23 Quebec hotels, which took place on Thursday.
“The employer must face the facts: the only way to avoid strike action and to reach a rapid resolution to the labour dispute is to negotiate genuinely. Hotel workers are determined to be respected,” said Michel Valiquette, head of the hotel sector and treasurer of the Fédération du commerce, in a press release issued Saturday morning.
Queen Elizabeth employees also held a surprise strike on Friday. Mr. Valiquette said the union was taking advantage of the summer period, the high season, to get its message across.
The workers are asking for a 36% wage increase over four years. Their union argues that they have had increases totaling 8% over the past four years, well below inflation, which exceeded that rate in 2022 alone.
They are also demanding three weeks of vacation from the first year of service, to attract new workers, an employer contribution to the group insurance plan and better supervision of training for the next generation.
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