More than 1,000 Casino de Montreal workers will be on strike during Grand Prix weekend

Quebec casino workers on strike during Grand Prix The province’s 1,700 casino workers walked off the job Thursday and will stay on strike for at least five days.

Just as thousands of tourists roll into Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, more than 1,000 workers at the Casino de Montreal will be on strike.

Workers at the Montreal casino, as well as those at casinos in Gatineau, Charlevoix, and Mont-Tremblant, launched a five-day strike Thursday. Casino operations are expected to continue during the strike.

Riccardo Scopelleti, the president of the security workers' unit, had earlier said in an interview with The Canadian Press that staff would not hesitate to go on strike during the popular tourism weekend.

The casino is located on Île Notre-Dame, which is where the Formula 1 race is held, on the Gilles-Villeneuve circuit.

At the heart of the labour dispute is employee salaries. They are asking for "the equivalent of the cost of living increase plus $1 an hour," according to the union.

Casino de Montreal workers have been in negotiations with their employer, Loto-Quebec, since June 2022.

With files from Noovo Info