Surprise strike launched by workers at Queen Elizabeth Hotel

Dozens of hotel workers at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth were out on the picket lines once again on Friday morning.

The additional day of surprise strike action comes after thousands of hotel workers across Quebec walked off the job on Thursday.

They are aiming to turn up the pressure on their employers as negotiations appear to have stalled.

“With the employer, it’s one step forward, two steps back. It’s time for him to show seriousness at the negotiating table and to promote a rapid resolution of the labour dispute,” said Michel Valiquette, responsible for the hotel sector and treasurer of the Fédération du commerce (FC-CSN), in a press release. Valiquette also points out that the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the CDPQ, owns the establishment.

On Thursday, 2,600 employees at 23 hotels in the province were involved in the strike action.

Demands from the union workers include a 36 per cent wage increase over four years, eliminating the use of employment agencies, reducing workloads, that employers increase their contribution to the group insurance plan, and that employees can decide how to divide tips among themselves.

The walkout, organized by the Confédération des syndicats nationaux-affiliated union Fédération du commerce (FC-CSN), follows 11 rounds of bargaining.

The surprise strike at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel was launched early Friday morning around 6 a.m. and is expected to last until midnight.

The union says there are two more strike days left, after voting for a 120-hour strike mandate.

“It is time for the employer to take the measure of the seriousness and mobilization of the workers of the Queen Elizabeth,” said Chantal Ide, vice-president of the Conseil central du Montréal métropolitain (CCMM-CSN). “All the strength of the 330,000 members of the CSN is at their side.”

CityNews reached out to representatives of the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel, but have not heard back yet.