Montreal hotel strike: Union plans Quebec-wide strike on August 8

New surprise strikes were announced at Montreal hotels on Thursday, with several establishments in the province facing a “provincial hotel strike” on August 8.

The Confederation of National Unions (CSN) announced that more than 400 workers at the Gouverneur Place Dupuis hotel and the DoubleTree hotel began a 36-hour strike on Thursday.

“This is the fourth strike in the eleventh round of coordinated negotiations for the CSN hotel sector, which this year includes 30 hotels in Quebec and more than 3,500 workers,” the union said in a press release.

Earlier on Thursday morning, the CSN argued that a provincial strike on August 8 was necessary due to the “lack of progress at the negotiating tables on the common demands of coordinated negotiations.”

The strike affects hotels in Montreal, Quebec City and Sherbrooke.

The union said “thousands of hotel workers” would strike for 24 hours.

Workers at half of the 30 hotels participating in the negotiations have voted in favor of a 120-hour strike mandate, which they can call at any time.

The workers are making seven main demands in the negotiations, including a 36 percent wage increase over four years. They also want their employers to increase their contributions to group insurance and, among other things, to end the use of employment agencies.

Last Sunday, about 1,000 workers at three well-known Montreal hotels — The Queen Elizabeth, Château Champlain and Bonaventure — unexpectedly went on strike for 24 hours.

Hundreds of hotel workers demonstrated outside the Marriott Château Champlain on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on August 1, 2024.