Nearly 1,700 Canadian casino workers walked off the job last week trying to bring attention to their plight during one of the busiest times of the year in the Canadian province.
The workers conducted a five-day strike during Grand Prix week, one of Montreal’s busiest, and most lucrative times of the year. The employees, who were mostly support staff, are employed by four casinos, including Montreal, Gatineau, Mont-Tremblant, and Charlevoix. The CSN-affiliated union workers are also carrying out a strike at Loto Quebec’s online gambling site.
Some workers followed up that walkout with a one-day strike June 22. That action did not have the same effect as the strike on the week of the Grand Prix. The Formula 1 race sees tens of thousands of spectators who stimulate the area’s economy by spending money at hotels, restaurants, and other local businesses.
The strategy is an attempt to force casinos to the bargaining table. Workers are asking for “the equivalent of the rise in the cost of living plus $1 per hour,” in order to “protect employees’ purchasing power and improve attraction and retention.”
Officials at Loto-Québec, who own Casino de Montreal, said in a press release that they have presented “two comprehensive and generous monetary offers.” They believe those “address the major issues of attraction, retention and the economic context.”
Earlier in June, 91 percent of union employees voted to conduct the five-day strike during Grand Prix weekend. The Crown corporation, a government organization that oversees the casinos, said business at the casinos “would not be affected despite the pressure tactics.”
Talks have stalled since February when the two offers were made. Riccardo Scopelleti, the president of security workers at the Montreal Casino, told CBC that negotiations need to resume.
“We’re sending the message, we want to return to the table, we want to negotiate,” Scopelleti said. He added that the casinos have seen profits for 17 consecutive years and described the refusal to look at salaries, “deplorable.”
The CSN workers union pointed out that Loto-Québec’s latest annual report says the Crown corporation had it the “best year ever.” The union highlighted that the casino’s executive vice president, Kevin G. Taylor, saw his yearly salary increase 34 percent.
