Montreal hotel workers walk out after union adopts strike mandate

Employees at the Bonaventure Hotel in downtown Montreal walked off the job over the weekend, demanding better pay, working conditions and training.

This follows the 24-hour surprise strike held by workers at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel last Monday the first walkout since the beginning of negotiations between the hotel industry and Confdration des syndicats nationaux-affiliated union Fdration du commerce (FC-CSN), which includes 30 hotels in Quebec.

The FC-CSN has been negotiating with employers to renew the collective agreement since April, and says employers are dragging their feet when it comes to demands involving pay.

The hotel workers are demanding a 36 per cent salary increase over four years to make up for money lost during the pandemic and to make up for inflation. They are also asking for a third week of vacation, better insurance contributions, improved training programs for new hires, a more equitable distribution of tips and an end to the use of temporary placement agencies.

A 120-hour strike mandate was adopted on July 3 by 95 per cent of the Queen Elizabeth workers and can be broken down into hours or days. The same mandate was then adopted by the Bonaventure employees.

The hotel didn't comment, but earlier this month some hoteliers told Radio-Canada thatthe union members are asking for a lot, saying working conditions in the industry are already good. They said they were willing to negotiate.

'Determined to be respected'

Michel Valiquette, union head of the hotel sector at the FC-CSN, says the previous collective agreement included an eight per cent salary increase, which was not enough. He says there is a retention problem in the industry, in large part because of low wages and improper training.

"We want to attract new workers and keep them," said Valiquette.

"People are determined to be respected."

Barry Eidlin, an associate professor of sociology at McGill University with a focus on labour policy, says the hotel industry is playing catch-up after taking big hits during the pandemic.

In 2019, the average price for a room was $192 per night, but went down to $143 per night in 2020 with an average occupancy rate of 21 per cent.

Workers bore the brunt of the pandemic dip since they couldn't work.

"A lot of them lost their jobs. On top of that there was the spike in the cost of living post-pandemic," said Eidlin.

"These things combined to make hotel workers really far behind in terms of their purchasing power and their ability to make ends meet for themselves and their families."

Last year, the industry showed it was bouncing back a room cost $216 per night on average in 2023, with a 70 per cent occupancy rate.

Eidlin says employees should see that reflected in their working conditions.

The union hopes to get employers back to the bargaining table through these limited targeted strikes, which could lead to larger-scale actions if negotiations don't progress. A joint strike day with all hotel workers is planned for August.