Thousands of staff at hotels in Montreal, Quebec City and Sherbrooke are expected to strike for 24 hours Thursday, with the aim of getting better salaries, working conditions and training.
Workers in Montreal will be holding a rally at Place des Festivals at 12:30 p.m. to provide an update on negotiations with the employer.
The Confédération des syndicats nationaux-affiliated union Fédération du commerce (FC-CSN), which represents more than 3,500 workers — including employees at 30 Quebec hotels — said it planned the daylong strike because of the lack of progress at the bargaining table.
Thursday’s strike comes a week after more than 400 employees from downtown Montreal hotels, the Gouverneur Place Dupuis and the Hilton DoubleTree, held a surprise 36-hour demonstration.
It was the fourth walkout organized since talks between the hotel industry and the FC-CSN started in April.
Before that, nearly 1,000 workers at the Queen Elizabeth, Marriott Château Champlain and Bonaventure hotels in Montreal went on a surprise 24-hour strike on July 28. By the following afternoon, two of the three hotels had locked out striking workers.
Demands from the union include a 36 per cent wage increase over four years, eliminating the use of employment agencies, reducing workloads and allowing employees to decide how to divide tips among themselves.
More than 90 per cent of members voted in favour of a 120-hour strike mandate in recent weeks, according to the union federation.