Quebec hotel workers in three cities strike over lagging contract talks

Hotel workers in Quebec go on strike. (LA PRESSE CANADIENNE/Graham Hughes)

About 2,600 unionized employees from hotels in some of the province's largest cities walked off the job Thursday, protesting an impasse in contract talks.

The 24-hour strike hit 23 hotels in Montreal, Quebec City and Sherbrooke.

Éric Hamel, general manager of an association representing Montreal hotels, said that despite the strike it was business as usual in the city.

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

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

Hamel says the employers are ready to negotiate but do not have the capacity to pay the salary demands.

The strike involved 16 Montreal hotels, including the Queen Elizabeth, Bonaventure and The Ritz-Carlton, five in the Quebec City region and two in Sherbrooke.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2024.