Dealers at the Montreal Casino have voted 97.4 percent in favor of a strike if their employer, Loto-Québec, doesn’t rehire their colleagues who were laid off during the Covid-19 pandemic. Loto-Québec reopened its casinos February 28.
“What is particularly terrible about this situation is that even if the casino recalled 100 percent of these dealers, only 60 percent of the tables would be operational. We’ve already lost a lot of workers,” said Jean-Pierre Proulx, consultant for the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
According to CUPE, workers were first laid off in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. They were paid through July 21, and subsequently have been out of work. The union has slammed the casino for reportedly trying to hide hundreds of layoffs in breach of the current collective agreement.
The dealers “must be protected because they generously fill the coffers of the State,” said Proulx. The union is asking that the employer recall all dealers who have been laid off since the beginning of the pandemic. Starting Tuesday, employees will be wearing union shirts.
