Some 1,000 workers at three well-known Montreal hotels called a surprise 24-hour strike on Sunday.
The Queen Elizabeth, Marriott Château Champlain and Bonaventure hotels are all striking simultaneously to improve their working conditions, the Conférence des syndicats nationaux (CSN), which represents them, said in a press release.
Workers at the three hotels are jointly demanding a 36 per cent pay increase over four years “to compensate for the loss of purchasing power due to inflation.”
They are also asking employers to contribute to the group insurance plan and to provide better training for the next generation of workers.
“After several negotiating sessions, it is deplorable to see that so little progress has been made. At some tables, the employers are still trying to impose an unacceptable step backwards,” said Michel Valiquette, head of the hotel sector and treasurer of the CSN’s Fédération du commerce, in the press release.
‘With today’s …