More than 2,000 Quebec hotel workers set to strike for one day on Thursday

MONTREAL — Hotel workers in three of Quebec’s largest cities are set to walk off the job Thursday in the middle of the busy summer tourist season.

The one-day strike will affect 23 hotels in the Montreal region, Quebec City and Sherbrooke, and will include more than 2,600 workers.

Negotiations between hotel owners and the workers’ union, the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), have stalled since the union first threatened a provincewide strike last week.

The union says the strike will have a major impact on hotel services, including room cleaning, reception and dining services.

Éric Hamel, interim CEO of the Greater Montreal Hotel Association, says the 16 affected hotels in and around Montreal will remain open but may have reduced services — including some closed restaurants and bars — as managers cover for striking employees.

Hotel employees have seven key demands, including a 36-per-cent pay increase over four years and an end to the use of employment agencies.

The CSN says it hoped that announcing the strike a week in advance would put pressure on employers to reach an agreement, but that hasn’t happened.

Hamel says employers are ready to negotiate. He claims the union has been unwilling to come to the table since last week and calls the strike “unjustified.”

Less than 10 per cent of Montreal hotels will be affected, Hamel says. Arrangements have been made so that any guests who want to leave can transfer to hotels in the city that are unaffected by the strike.

Hamel says he hopes the CSN will come back to the negotiating table after the strike. The union says more walkouts could be in the cards if this strike doesn’t move the needle.

The strike will include the Queen Elizabeth, Bonaventure and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Montreal. Five hotels in and around Quebec City will be affected, as well as the Delta and Quality hotels in Sherbrooke.

Negotiations between hotel owners and the union began in April, but the CSN has organized several surprise walkouts at a handful of hotels in recent weeks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2024.

The Canadian Press